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THAT SINKING FEELING
Flooding chaos as water pipes burst for the fifth time in a year
SCHOOLS were evacuated, shops closed and hundreds of households left without running water after a burst pipe brought chaos to Maida Vale for the fifth time in the past year.
Outraged residents have slammed provider Thames Water following the latest disruption that sent thousands of gallons of water gushing into the roads around Kilburn Park station.
Children from St Luke’s and Wilberforce primary schools were sent home as water rose above parked cars in Oxford Road where the pipe burst in the early hours of Thursday.
Residents told of waking up to find out they were stranded by a “river of water” and must now set about cleaning up flooded basements, sodden carpets and damp cars.
Last night (Thursday) many households were still without water and part of Kilburn High Road remained closed while engineers frantically tried to plug the leak. Thames Water promised that all water will be back on today (Friday). The company has never offered an explanation for any of the bursts in the 36-inch pipe that runs from the Marylebone flyover to Kilburn High Road.
Patricia Payne, 75, said: “This is happening all the time now. It’s a complete joke. There’s never any warning. It affects so many people.
?It was like a river. You could have swum down it or taken a boat out.”
London Assembly member Murad Qureshi has thrown down the gauntlet to Thames Water saying it doesn’t “bode well” when awarding future contracts.
He said: “I’ve written to them time and time again but it seems like they’re unable to reduce leakages. It really is staggering. Every time they dig huge craters in the middle of the road, and nothing seems to get resolved. It’s always the same households and it simply isn’t good enough. I would say it doesn’t bode well for future services.”
Westminster Council says it is working with Thames Water to fix the leak as quickly as possible.
A spokesman for Thames Water said: “Supplies are returning to normal. However, some customers may be experiencing a reduction in water pressure.
“Staff are visiting affected properties and are refilling water tanks or providing bottled water where necessary. Repairs to the carriage are likely to take several days.” |
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