Thousands still without water due to burst main

The works are complicated as the pipe is 5m underground and close to electric cables

Thousands of people remain without water after temporary repairs to a burst main failed.

Welsh Water said a full emergency repair was under way to fix the pipe in Broughton, Flintshire, but the company expected disruption to continue until Friday evening.

Flint, Holywell, Ffynnongroyw, Greenfield, Llanerch y Mor, Mostyn, Oakenholt, Talacre, Whitford, Queensferry, Shotton, Connah's Quay, Garden City, Hawarden, Mancot and Sandycroft have all been affected.

Bottled water stations have been set up with deliveries being made to vulnerable customers.

Temporary repairs to a burst water main last weekend failed and more repairs are being carried out

Welsh Water said it "apologised" to customers who are experiencing disruption.

On Thursday afternoon, the company said it will be "working overnight" to restore the water supply and will "remain on the ground" supporting customers.

The company confirmed customers will be compensated as a result of the burst main.

Households are set to receive £30 for each 12 hours without a water supply.

Businesses will receive £75 for each 12 hours they have been without a supply and will also be able to claim for any loss of income.

The company said the temporary repair on a large main in Broughton carried out last weekend was done to get people back on supply as quickly as possible and allow it to refill the network.

That would have given the water company enough storage time to go back and complete the permanent repair without any impact on supplies.

"Unfortunately, the temporary repair has not held and so we have to act quickly to carry out an emergency repair before full storage could be restored," it added.

"This is complex due to the pipe being located 5m (16ft) underground and close to underground electric cables and other services, which requires extra care," it added.

"We've had to do this repair quicker than planned and with lower levels of storage in several of our service reservoirs."

"Due to the scale of the network, it will then take us some time to safely refill the system, including the service reservoirs, and in turn restore supplies but we will keep customers informed."

In a letter to customers Welsh Water CEO Peter Perry apologised for the "challenging" and "frustrating" disruption to water supplies.

"We will conduct a full review of the incident and all aspects of our response," he added.

Public Health Wales (PHW) has urged people affected by the burst water main to "protect their health" by staying hydrated.

"It's particularly important to make sure that young children and the elderly are drinking enough water," it added.

PHW said those feeding babies should use bottles provided by Welsh Water as supermarket bottles "may contain too much sodium".

Welsh Water bottles can be collected from:

• Jade Jones Pavilion, Flint CH6 5ER

• Park and Ride Car Park, Deeside Industrial Park, CH5 2NY

• County Hall Car Park, Mold CH7 6NF