Guildford area water supply disruption a catastrophe, MP says

A water station at Artington park and ride is due to open again on Tuesday, Thames Water says

Disruption to fresh water supplies in parts of Surrey has been "an absolute catastrophe", Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has said.

Thames Water said 90% of customers in Guildford who have been without fresh water are now back in supply.

The issue has affected up to 12,000 people and businesses in the Guildford area.

Mr Hunt, also Tory MP for South West Surrey, said the disruption had "been a hammer blow" for the area.

A Thames Water spokesman said supply is expected to return to the remaining customers without fresh water through the night.

"We'd like to thank our customers for their patience during this time and we're very sorry to residents who are still experiencing no water or low pressure," he said.

Bottled water stations at Millford Cricket Club, Crown Court Car Park in Godalming and Artington Park and Ride in Guildford will remain open until 21:00 GMT.

Mr Hunt told BBC Radio Surrey: "We're expecting normal service to resume at midday.

"Merrow, curiously this morning is suddenly without [water]," he said.

"This has been an absolute catastrophe for the area. There are still schools that are closed and businesses have really suffered."

Mr Hunt said he had a message from a pub landlord who was "down about £10,000" after being forced to close on Sunday.

Mr Hunt added: "The frustration was, for a very long time, that we didn't know what the problem was, or how long it was going to take to solve it, so people were left in limbo.

"The question on many people's minds was 'why did this happen in the first place?'"

Thames Water customer Jason told BBC Radio Surrey he had been without water since Thursday night.

"It's been very frustrating," he said, adding that he had been told his supply in Shalford "would be fixed within 24 or 48 hours".

"Just get it fixed," he said.

'We understand the frustration'

Thames Water has opened bottled water stations at Milford cricket ground, crown court car park in Godalming and Artington park and ride on Tuesday morning.

Customers have been affected in postcodes including: GU1, GU2, GU3, GU5, GU6, GU7 and GU8.

The county's Local Resilience Forum declared a major incident on Sunday.

"We'd like to thank our customers for their patience during this time and we're very sorry to residents who are still experiencing no water or low pressure," a Thames Water spokesman said.

"We understand the frustration that residents have, which is why we are building up resilience in the area."

The company said a fleet of tankers was being used to pump water into the system.

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