Image source, Welsh Water

It’s been almost two days since the water pipe burst in Conwy, but thousands are still without water.

We’ll be closing our live page shortly, but here are some of the main updates from today:

• Welsh Water says the burst pipe, caused by pressure from rocks, has been repaired, but it could be up to 48 hours before water is restored
• It adds different communities will have their water supply restored at different times, and “discoloured" water is normal after a supply interruption and is usually temporary
• Welsh Water has also announced a compensation package for those experiencing water issues. Eligible households will be paid £30 for every 12 hours their supplies have been affected
• Two water bottle stations have been set up – one in Conwy and another in Colwyn Bay – with large queues being reported at both
• A care home worker has also raised concerns about the risk of infections due to a lack of water

This page was edited by John Arkless and Carys Betteley and the writers were Oliver Slow and Catriona Aitken.

Click here to continue reading developments on this story.

We’ll be wrapping up our live page coverage shortly, but before we go let’s bring you a bit of detail about how the pipe burst came about on Wednesday.

Gareth Evans, head of water production for Welsh Water, told the BBC the incident was caused by rocks pressing on the pipe.

Our reporter Rob Thomas was shown a picture of the pipe with a fist-sized hole in it.

Evans says what appears to be “movement within the river bed” caused a rock or large rocks to “press against the pipeline”.

This caused initially a small hole that then caused a larger leak and “then catastrophic failure of one of the couplings which connect the pipe works together”.

Addressing concerns that the pipe might fail again as the pressure increased, Evans said: "We have comprehensively repaired at this location, it's been fully-flow tested and pressure tested in the last few hours."

Catriona Aitken
BBC News

Janet Finch-Saunders, Welsh Conservatives’ climate change and environment representative, says she’s “deeply concerned” by the situation.

“Residents have been understandably frustrated by large queues at water collection centres and older residents have been left confused by the lack of clear communication outside of social media from Dŵr Cymru (Welsh Water),” she says.

She adds she and her staff have been helping to distribute water, “but the situation remains chaotic”.

“It’s crucial that this issue is resolved as soon as possible and Dŵr Cymru must take responsibility to ensure the people of Conwy have their water restored.”

Despite the water issues in the local area, Colwyn Bay FC’s JD Cymru North game against Buckley Town on Friday night will still go ahead, the club has announced.

It said all health and safety measures have been approved – although hot food will not be available – and that turnstiles will open at 17:30 GMT for the 19:45 kick off.

Earlier we heard from care home manager Steffan Robbins, who says residents are using paper plates and wooden cutlery.

He also says the staff, who can't shower at home, are rising to the challenge.

“They are rallying together,” he says, adding that staff from a nearby hospice, as well as members of the local community, had offered to help.

"We ran out of potatoes, but the local greengrocer opened just for us so we could have some," he says.

"It is the little things. It means they can still have fish and chips today."

He says the care home is still allowing visitors, who have to clean their hands with alcohol gel when they arrive, as it would be too distressing for residents not to see loved ones.

"We are doing what we can to make it safe and keep going," he said.

"It is all the things we take for granted," he said. "

BBC Wales' Jennifer Jones has been reporting from a water supply centre near the burst pipe.

She says people have largely been of the view that "they've just got to get on with" the water shortages.

Megan Davies
BBC News

We’ve been speaking to James, 39, from Llanrwst, Conwy county, who said he is still waiting for water, despite registering as a priority case yesterday.

“We’ve got a vulnerable son. This issue has affected us in a big way.”

His four-year-old son, Gethin, is fed through a feeding tube that needs to be cleaned regularly.

“We’ve only got a few little bottles of water left now,” he said, adding that his wife has gone to her mum’s house to see if there is more water.

“We can’t drive so, it’s quite awkward,” he adds.

James says he and his wife, Lowri, are “hoping and praying it gets better” by the weekend.

Welsh Water has issued an update on the burst waterpipe, saying repair work has been completed but that water will not be fully restored for “up to 48 hours”.

“This is a high-pressure water main, and we are at a very precarious stage of the process,” it said, adding that water needs to be refilled “very carefully to avoid further bursts”.

The network is almost 900km (560 miles) long and includes 13 underground storage tanks, the largest of which is the size of nine Olympic size swimming pools.

Welsh Water adds that different communities will have their water supply restored at different times, and that “discoloured water” is normal after a supply interruption and is usually temporary.

"We also ask that customers check their taps to ensure that they are closed to help conserve supplies as we refill the network,” it added.

Rob Thomas
BBC reporter, who lives in the affected area

It's 4.26pm on Wednesday, as the sun sets, that my phone pings. A text from Welsh Water informing me that, like the sun, my water supply has just gone down.

I'm not overly concerned. My rural home suffers from breaks in supply frequently enough for me to have gradually built-up a stockpile of nearly 50 litres of bottled water.

Just two hours later and my Boy Scout “Be Prepared” bravado has dried up as completely as the taps and the toilets as I realise this is not down to some burst on a country lane. This is a major fault at the water treatment centre providing supplies to tens of thousands of people across Conwy county.

By now four precious litres of my emergency supply have already been wasted refilling one greedy toilet cistern - just enough for one flush.

Thursday begins with a radical reappraisal of just how to make the most of the remaining bottled water as news of the problem, and cuts in supply, spread across Conwy, leading to a swift clearing of bottled water from the shelves of all supermarkets within a reasonable driving distance.

Small amounts are set aside for teeth cleaning, hand sanitiser replaces soap and water for hand washing and long-forgotten crockery re-emerges from the back of kitchen cupboards as the used dishes grow into a precarious pile on the work-tops and table.

The dishwasher, of course, now as much use as the proverbial chocolate teapot.

As the scale of the needed repair work to the burst pipeline becomes clearer, and the likely completion time moves ever further away, I start Friday with a dawn-patrol of the garden. Rain water, found in a couple of buckets, is strained of the worst debris it may contain and recycled to provide a means of flushing toilets which have long-since become a thing of non-beauty.

Like everyone else affected, I constantly check for updates on the repair and hope that my home won't be one of those that has to wait a further 48 hours for a resumption of normal supplies even after the burst is fixed.

But I'm one of the lucky ones - I have a car, I can drive for miles if I have to in order to buy in more water and I don't have to worry about struggling to carry and handle heavy bottles.

Conwy county has a high percentage of elderly people, many with no transport and no way of carrying water even the shortest distance. For them, this is no mere inconvenience. They need the taps back on.

Image source, Google

The interim chief operating officer of Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board says there is currently “no disruption” at its Llandudno, Colwyn Bay and Bryn-y Neuadd hospital sites.

Imran Devji says: “Water tankers are on site to ensure they have water supplies and there has been no disruption to services at this time. We continue to work with our partners to ensure support is provided to vulnerable patients in the community.”

Devji says all the GP practices within the affected area are open, with support including bottled water and temporary toilet facilities.

“All patients are being triaged, and where possible remote consultations are being offered,” he said.

Catriona Aitken
BBC News

Image source, Getty Images

Darren Millar, leader of the Welsh Conservatives, describes the situation as “unacceptable and rapidly becoming a humanitarian crisis”.

“Mums with babies have no access to sterilised water, a number of care homes have received no deliveries of bottled water for the vulnerable people in their care, and domiciliary carers and district nurses are unable to wash people or change wounds,” he says.

“The contingency arrangements aren't working and the lack of communications from Welsh Water to local residents is causing unnecessary confusion and distress.”

He says compensation being offered is “derisory” and adds it is “vital” that lessons are learned.

“I have tabled an emergency question for discussion in the Senedd next week.”

While several businesses have been forced to close due to having no water, others are striving to stay open and hoping people will still go out and support them.

On Thursday, the BBC's Garry Owen took a look at Conwy High Street to see how businesses are dealing with the issue.

As we’ve been reporting, a number of water collection points have been established to provide for those in need.

They’ve certainly been well-used, as these pictures taken by BBC reporters show, giving an indication of how many people have been impacted by the water shortages.

A care home manager has raised concerns about the risk of infection as the lack of water means residents and staff cannot wash their hands.

Steffan Robbins said says 14 residents at the Orme View Care Home in Llandudno – including those with dementia and one in palliative care – are having to eat off paper plates and use wooden cutlery.

"We have no flushing toilets, no handwashing facilities," he said, explaining the home has gone 24 hours without water.

"They are not able to wash their hands, luckily we have hand wipes for meal times, but we are having to use them for toilets as well."

Robbins says they had 200 litres of water delivered on Thursday but were down to the last 70 litres on Friday afternoon.

He says infection control is “absolutely essential”, particularly washing hands.

"Nothing beats soap and water. I feel sorry for the residents, it could be days without a bath or a shower."

He adds the home has spoken to Welsh Water who has said they “will come as soon as they can” while the council has escalated their concerns.

Rob Thomas
Reporting from Colwyn Bay

The BBC has been speaking to some of the people queuing for water at Eirias Park in Colwyn Bay.

Jo Duffy lives in Llandudno and has driven more than five miles to get water.

“We shouldn’t have to come all the way over here,” she says.

Her water has been off since Thursday afternoon, and she describes it as “really difficult” as they cannot do basic tasks like cooking.

“We can’t even flush the toilet,” she adds.

May Jones has walked to the centre to collect 12 bottles of water, which she hopes to make “last as long as we can”.

“We can’t do any washing, flushing the toilet, the usual things you take for granted,” she says.

Llandudno Centre, which hosts a wellbeing centre for blind veterans, has had to temporarily close due to the water shortage, with all blind veterans staying at the centre being transported home.

The centre added arrivals due to take place on Sunday have been delayed until Tuesday, while those due to stay on Monday will be updated once more information is available.

“As this outage is affecting the whole county, the centre team are working with community teams to ensure that any blind veterans in the local community that may require additional assistance are getting the support they need,” it said, urging any blind veterans who need assistance to get in touch.

The disruption caused by the burst water pipe has been ongoing for the past two days.

On Thursday, the BBC spoke to a number of businesses in Conwy about how they were coping.

Worthy Hairdressing, in the town centre, chose to open its doors under a “dry cuts only” policy as it was the only service they could provide.

Hairdresser Jade Barrett said they were booked up all day but that had “changed a lot” as they rearranged appointments.

Cafe owner Isaac Simeon said he was unable to make hot drinks but had plenty of cakes and sandwiches available.

“I can’t make coffee and tea today, but it’s OK, I am open,” he said.

Tourist attraction Conwy Castle was also closed on both Thursday and Friday.

On social media, people are commenting about resorting to using stream and pond water to flush their toilets.

One woman says she used water collected in a large water container to flush her toilets, and another used water from the “goldfish pond”.

Some say they are going down to the sea to collect water.

Image source, Getty Images

Gwrych Castle, just outside Abergele, is providing emergency water for “the most vulnerable and those in need”.

In a Facebook post, the venue – a 19th Century castle that hosted ITV's I'm a Celebrity... in 2020 and 2021 – says it has a “limited supply” that will be available between 10:00 GMT and 17:00 on Saturday and Sunday.

People are urged to bring their own water bottles.

“We kindly ask everyone to be considerate of others who may be in greater need,” the post says.

Due to high volumes of traffic, North Wales Police is urging people to avoid the area around Eirias Park in Colwyn Bay, unless they are collecting water.