MP SLAMS THAMES WATER OVER SUPPLY FAILURES – customers could get some money back on bills
THAMES WATER officials have been quizzed by Croydon North MP Steve Reed and Crystal Palace residents over months of water-supply failures in the area.
“For well over a year residents have intermittently woken up to find their taps, toilets and showers had no water” said the MP’s office in a statement.
“The inconvenience of being unable to wash, bath the children, flush the toilet or even make a cup of tea has left residents seething at Thames Water’s failure.
“Steve Reed invited residents who contacted him via email, Facebook and Twitter to question Thames Water bosses at a meeting in Parliament.
“Residents Francis Bernstein and Jodie Littlewood took up the offer to speak on behalf of their neighbours. “They told the water company chiefs how frequently problems had occurred and what a huge problems it caused.
“Thames Water’s representatives agreed to publish detailed plans of repair work due to continue until April next year and to keep residents informed about risks to supply and when they will be sorted out.
“Steve asked for long-suffering customers to be offered financial compensation as an apology.
“After expressing surprise at just how bad the water supply had been they agreed to consider offering customers money back on their bills” the statement added.
Speaking after the meeting Steve said: “I’m incredibly grateful to Jodie and Francis for coming in to tell Thames Water what just how bad it’s been over the past few months.
“There are clearly problems with the water-pumping system in the Crystal Palace area and local people need to know how these are going to be put right.
“People can’t keep waking up to find they have no water, we must see improvement as quickly as possible.”
A Thames Water spokeswoman told News From Crystal Palace: “We’re sorry our customers in Crystal Palace have had problems. “We’re part-way through upgrading our equipment and this work will give residents a much more consistent and stable water supply.”
News From Crystal Palace understands that the water supply in Crystal Palace has been affected by a number of items, including burst mains reducing pressure to the area and the failure of the pumps that push water around the network.
Both of these mean customers at the end of the pipes or in the highest areas above ground lose their supply first because of their locations.
Crystal Palace being so high above ground means these pumps need to be high performance to make sure all customers continue to get water even if something (like a burst main) affects the flow in the pipes at another location.
The work Thames Water are carrying out to reduce the risk of customers losing supply includes:
• upgrading the pumps that push water around their network of pipes
• installing a new control unit to monitor the water in the network
• installing new standby generators
and is due to be completed by April next year.