Thames accused of being unprepared after thousands cut off

Thames Water should have been better prepared for disruption caused by Storm Ciaran, CCW has said, after thousands of homes were left without water.

More than a dozen schools were unable to open on Monday (6 November) with an estimated 12,000 homes cut off due to ongoing problems with Thames’ Shalford treatment centre.

The water watchdog described the situation as “really disappointing” and expressed frustration that Thames was not better prepared for the storm and also criticised the water company’s subsequent response.

CCW head of company engagement Cath Jones said: “Storm Ciaran was forecast well in advance so it’s frustrating to see some of the same issues emerging during extreme weather.

“Companies have had ample time to plan for rezoning water so supplies can be restored quickly and it’s really disappointing to see reports of some emergency bottled water stations running out of stock. That just compounds people’s frustration.”

Lack of supply meant 15 schools across Godalming and Milford did not open on Monday and residents took to social media to complain that disruptions had lasted five days.

The water company opened a third bottled water distribution site for residents in the Guildford area where 12,000 people were left without water. Stocks ran low on Sunday with residents taking to social media to complain about wait times at the distribution locations.

Residents also reported “murky” water coming out of taps when supplies began to flow again but were assured by Thames Water via X, formerly Twitter, that the discoloured water was safe but advised running the tap until it ran clear.

Thames treatment works at Shalford experienced a failure after the storms and was offline over the weekend. It was brought back online on Monday morning, but the company warned that regular service would take some time to resume.

A spokesperson for Thames said: “Shalford water treatment works is now back online, following issues caused by Storm Ciaran.  We need to refill underground reservoirs which have run very low. We’d like to thank our customers for their patience during this time.

“We’re very sorry to residents who are still experiencing no water or low pressure. Tankers remain in the area to pump water into the local supply network and we continue to deliver bottled water to customers who are on our priority services register.”

Social media users shared frustration that no explanation was given for a water distribution point opening two hours later than promised on Monday morning.

The Royal Surrey Hospital was part of the major incident declared in the area. It assured patients there was a continuous water supply, but warned the accident and emergency department had been “operating with particularly low levels of water and our toilet facilities in this area have been closed”.

Residents queued to collect bottled water as Thames worked to restore connections and pump more treated water into its network.

The situation worsened when a pedestrian was hit by a car in the same carpark being used for one of the a water collection points on Sunday.

The company added that it is boosting resilience in the area with a 9km transfer pipeline to connect residents to an alternative supply source, which is scheduled to begin next year.

CCW is currently working with regulators on research into people’s experiences of incidents so the sector can learn from such events, to better understand the impact on customers of disruption and share best practice.

Chancellor Jermey Hunt, MP for southwest Surrey, posted on X that “The end is firmly in sight” for constituents with no water as supplies are anticipated to be back online Tuesday morning (7 November). He liased with interim Thames Water co-chief executive Alistair Cochrane and posted that production rates were increased on Sunday to replenish network pipes.

Defra, which coordinates response action with water companies during extreme weather events, said: “We will continue to monitor the situation and expect Thames Water to take the necessary steps to resolve supply problems as quickly as possible and provide support to customers, particularly those who are vulnerable.”

In December 2022, thousands of homes had no water supplies following the freeze thaw event that interrupted networks in the south east of England. Following that, Ofwat and the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) issued reports that said South East and Southern fell short of customer expectations in their emergency response.

Ofwat’s investigation said many companies had tightened their approach after the 2018 Beast from the East, but in 2022 there were not enough bottles of water ready for affected homes.

Emergency Planning Guidance stipulates that each company is responsible for making sure all customers have access to a minimum amount of water for the duration of interruptions. DWI found South East did not have enough water stations – despite distributing more than 700,000 litres of bottled water during the time. DWI also called out the company for not reaching all vulnerable customers on the priority services list within 24 hours as required in the guidance.

The DWI and Ofwat said they would assess if the company met its duties and if there is a shortcoming an investigation would be requested.