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Water – low pressure and lost supply

Updated on

Via Winchester City Counci, Southern Water alerted us to the potential of loss or reduction of water supply across Hampshire over the next 48 hours.

Southern Water are sharing information on their social media channels and have been updating their website several times a day. 

For the latest news please keep checking back at www.southernwater.co.uk/the-news-room/the-media-centre/2022/december/loss-of-water-in-hampshire 

Southern Water say:

We are pleased to say that the majority of our customers now have their water back. If you don’t have water, please call us on 0330 303 0368. 

The teams have worked hard to ensure that our water supply is stable and our reservoir storage is topped up. Water demand continues to be high so please use water wisely.  

We would like to thank our customers for their patience as we gradually re-pressurised the network, it was important that we did this slowly to avoid pipes bursting.  

We recognise the inconvenience and distress this situation has caused, particularly in the run up to Christmas. We are so sorry. 

We will be updating our customers about compensation payments in the coming days. Payments, which will be credited directly to customer accounts, will be based on the Ofwat Guaranteed Standards Scheme, a scheme that we support. 

Bottled water stations will remain open until 10pm this evening. We will update the live status of these stations on our website and social channels.  Deliveries to our vulnerable customers on the Priority Services Register will continue. This is as a precautionary measure only. 

As water starts to return, you may still have low pressure – this is normal and is only temporary. You can also expect to see bubbles and discolouration. More information about what you can expect is available  here. 

We are continuing with deliveries to our priority services customers as a precaution, and bottled water stations remain open. We now have a 4th bottled water station open at Cantell School (pedestrian access only, no drive-through for cars) SO16 3GJ. 

  • East Winchester Park and Ride, SO23 9NP
  • Places Leisure in Eastleigh, SO50 9NL  
  • The Ageas Bowl (through the North Entrance from Botley Way), SO30 3RS
  • Cantell School (pedestrian access only) SO16 3GJ 

 As water starts to return, here’s what to expect: 

Discoloured water from your taps is normal after a supply interruption. This is usually temporary and disappears once the network settles. 

  • If the water is cloudy and white, try leaving it in a glass for a few minutes to see if it clears, this will be air trapped in the water as the pipes refilled.
  • If the water has a brown or black colour, run your tap for a few minutes and it should clear. If this doesn’t work, turn the tap off, wait 20 minutes and try again. It’s fine to use your water as normal when your water runs clear. 
  • Sometimes after a network has been emptied air locks can occur either in our pipes or customers’ – running taps for a short while can help bring water through.
  • It’s not unusual to see an increased number of external leaks after an incident like this, so if you should see something, please let us know –  Report a leak in a public place (southernwater.co.uk) 

We are sorry for the distress this incident has caused. 

We are pleased to say that we are now beginning to see our water supplies increasing to a position where we believe we can meet demand. Our water supply works are stable and our reservoir storage is topped up. This means that we can now allow water to flow through our network and customers will see water supply in their homes over the coming hours. 

We’ll be increasing supply gradually as we re-pressurise the network to avoid pipes bursting. This means that it’s going to take a few hours for all our customers to be back in supply, and for some this could be this evening.  

To avoid flooding, if you leave your house today please make sure that your taps are switched off. Demand is also likely to be high so customers are likely to see low pressure as the situation returns to normal.  

Deliveries to our vulnerable customers on the Priority Services Register will continue as a precautionary measure only. Our bottled water stations remain open at: 

  • East Winchester Park and Ride, SO23 9NP
  • Places Leisure in Eastleigh, SO50 9NL
  • The Ageas Bowl (through the North Entrance from Botley Way), SO30 3RS 

We will be updating our customers about compensation payments in the coming days. Payments, which will be credited directly to customer accounts, will be based on the Ofwat Guaranteed Standards Scheme, a scheme that we support. 

We are so sorry for the distress this incident has caused and would like to thank customers for their patience. We know this has been additional inconvenience in the run up to Christmas. 

We are continuing to work hard to solve the issues, with teams working through the night to tackle leaks and stabilise supply.  

Bottled water stations are open at the following locations: 

  • East Winchester Park and Ride, SO23 9NP 
  • Places Leisure in Eastleigh, SO50 9NL  
  • The Ageas Bowl (through the North Entrance from Botley Way), SO30 3RS 

We’ll be making bottled water deliveries to our Priority Services customers. If you have any concerns, call 0330 303 0368. 

You may see water returning during the day, so if you leave your home please make sure your taps are turned off to avoid flooding.  

We are so sorry for the ongoing inconvenience this is causing. 

Our bottled water stations are closing at 10pm, but they’ll be open again tomorrow morning at 8am, as per the information above.

We’re continuing to deliver bottled water to our Priority Services customers. If you have any concerns, call 0330 303 0368.

You may see water returning overnight. In case that happens, please make sure your taps are turned off when you go to bed, to avoid flooding. 

We’re opening another bottled water station at the Ageas Bowl, Botley Road, Southampton.  

Our four stations are: 

  •  East Winchester Park and Ride, SO23 9NP 
  • South Winchester Park and Ride, SO21 2FG
  • Places Leisure in Eastleigh, SO50 9NL
  • The Ageas Bowl, SO30 3RS  

We are continuing to make bottled water deliveries to our most vulnerable customers on the Priority Services Register. If you have a concern or want to be added to the register,  please call us on 0330 303 0368. 

We’re so sorry for the disruption and inconvenience this is causing, we’re working hard to get your water supply back to your home as quickly as possible.  

We’d like to apologise again for the ongoing distress the supply issues in South Hampshire are causing. We’re working as hard and as quickly as possible to restore supplies to normal, but in the meantime our bottled water collection points are stocked and ready for you to collect water whenever you need it.  
 
Here’s a reminder of where our teams are handing out water:  

  • East Winchester Park and Ride, SO23 9NP
  • South Winchester Park & Ride, SO21 2FG
  • Places Leisure, Eastleigh, SO50 9NL  

If you, or someone you know, needs access to bottled water as a priority and they can’t make it to a collection point, you can sign up to our Priority Services Register now, and we’ll add you to the list for emergency deliveries. 

Please call us on 0330 303 0368 to be added to the register

We’re really sorry for the ongoing disruption to water supply in parts of Hampshire. This is caused by a combination of factors.

The recent heavy rain has caused the amount of sediment in the water we take from rivers to be higher than normal which means our water treatment works are having to work harder to treat the water before it’s supplied to customers. This combined with the increased number of leaks we’ve experienced since the recent ‘freeze/thaw’ event has meant demand for water is outstripping the ability to keep taps running. 

We’re working as hard as we can to solve this issue, tackling leaks and stabilising supply, but we had to make really difficult decisions to reduce demand on the network – in order to protect critical Hampshire infrastructure like hospitals. 

We fully appreciate the distress this will be causing our customers especially in the run up to Christmas and we’re sorry.  

How you can help

We know it’s a lot to ask, but if customers still with water could reduce their use to help lessen demand on the network, that would help massively. Also, if anyone spots a leak please call our emergency line 0800 820 999.

Thank you

Please note – our bottled water sites may need to close temporarily to restock supplies, please check the live status at the link above before you travel.

We’re really sorry that our customers in the South Hampshire area – SO15, SO16, SO18, SO19, SO21, SO22, SO30, SO31, SO50, SO51, SO52 and SO53 are waking up to either low water pressure or a loss of water supply in their homes. 

It’s likely that this loss of pressure or water supply will continue for at least the next 48 hours. 

We will be making bottled water deliveries to our most vulnerable customers on the Priority Services Register.

We will also have three bottled water stations open at: 

💧 East Winchester Park and Ride, SO23 9NP – opens at 8am 

💧 South Winchester Park and Ride, SO21 2FG – opens at 8am 

💧 Places Leisure in Eastleigh, SO50 9NL – opens at 8am 

Further bottled water stations will be opening across the region this morning and we’ll share information as soon as they are open.  

We are so sorry for the disruption and inconvenience this is causing, particularly in the days before Christmas. We are working as hard as we can to resume full service by Sunday. 

If you know of anyone who is vulnerable and unable to get access to water, they can be added to Southern Water’s Priority Services Register and they will be added to the list of emergency deliveries. To be added, you can call 0800 027 0800 or 0330 303 0368 out of hours.

We’re sorry that our customers in SO15 – Southampton, SO16 – Bassett, Nursling, Millbrook, Chilworth, Chilworth Village Lord’s Hill, SO19 – Bitterne, SO21 – Compton, Compton Down, Hursley, Otterbourne, Shawford, Twyford, SO22 – Badger Farm, SO31 – Bursledon, SO50 – Eastleigh, SO51 – Ampfield, Braishfield, SO52 – North Baddesley and SO53 Chandlers Ford are without water.  

We are expecting more customers in the wider Yew Hill area – SO15, SO16, SO18, SO19, SO21, SO22, SO30, SO31, SO50, SO51, SO52, SO53 to lose either water pressure or supply in the coming few hours. 

It’s likely that this loss of pressure or water supply to your home will continue for at least the next 48 hours.