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Michael Dineen |
OAP 'scalded' by water fault
Residents face morning supply problem
A CARER has told how an elderly woman has suffered during two years of water supply problems on an estate in Maida Vale.
Uncontrollable water temperature changes in three council blocks in Lanark Road have led to minor scalding of the 93-year-old woman during bath times, according to Marietjie Boonzaaier.
Ms Boonzaaier said: “First the temperature is fine. But the pressure of the cold water is so low that all of a sudden there’s much more hot water coming out and she starts screaming. The other day her skin was red all over. The problem is that I don’t notice the change in temperature immediately because I wear gloves and Mrs Keiner can’t express herself anymore.”
Twice a day Ms Boonzaaier gives the elderly wheelchair user a shower, running the risk of burning her. She herself has resorted to sometimes taking a shower at 5am, when the water is fine.
It is just one example of a number of grievances coming out of Dundee House, Braemar House and Atholl House.
More than 200 residents in three council blocks that have had little or no water because of a long running dispute between City Hall and Thames Water going back to 2007. The council, which apologised to tenants this week, believes the problems may have been caused by a surge in installations of power showers.
Dundee House tenant Maisa Alkabi, a mother of three, said: “Sometimes my children can’t even wash their faces before they go to school. I keep bottles filled with water in the kitchen.”
In Atholl House, Carol, a carer who looks after a 93-year-old woman in the mornings, said: “It’s an absolute nuisance. I just have one hour to look after her – but I waste half of it waiting for the hot water to go on.”
Larry Kennedy, who takes care of a bed-ridden man, added: “The water takes ages to get hot. I just sit and wait for it to heat up.”
Michael Dineen, 78, said: “At 7.30 sharp I have no water in the kitchen for about an hour. I’m used to it. If I want to have boiled eggs in the morning, I make sure I fill the kettle the night before.”
Thames Water supplies the flats with water through a main pipe and it is CityWest Homes which manages the council’s housing, with responsibility to check the estate’s pumps and tanks are providing water to the building.
A CityWest spokeswoman said: “We regret the time it has taken to identify and rectify the problem and again, offer our sincere apologies to residents. Extensive pressure testing has been carried out on the main installations and at different points within the building, but unfortunately, the results are not conclusive.”
Maida Vale councillor Lee Rowley added: “At times, especially in summer, the water pressure is fine because people are on holiday. But when kids are back for school the problem is more noticeable.
“The assumption is that a number of people have installed power showers, which consume more water.
“This has probably caused a situation over the years where people get insufficient water pressure between six and nine.” |
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