Residents accuse Thames Water of not making efforts to conserve water

Last month, the Government listed regions of the country to have drought status and Thames Water warned of an imminent hosepipe ban, calling on customers to “voluntarily reduce their water consumption”.
However, people have criticised the water firm for not fixing ongoing leaks in the district, with reports of roads being flooded in Fairfax Place and Newtown Road, Newbury, and Southend, Cold Ash.
Thames Water has confirmed that the leak in Fairfax Place was reported on February 12, but was only repaired on Wednesday, February 29.
Alain Demarcq (pictured above right), aged 61, who lives in the road, said: “In spite of possible water shortage, when a water leak happens it is difficult to speak to anybody at Thames water and even if you manage to let them know about it, nothing is done.
“I tried to call them, but I was waiting for hours and no-one picked up. I’m fed up with it. It’s ridiculous when they ask you to save water but there is a leak for more than two weeks.”
Similarly, a water leak was reported in Southend, with the problem eventually fixed on Wednesday.
Thames Water said the leak was reported on February 24 but residents refute this, saying that engineers actually inspected the site four days earlier.
Residents Linda and George Taylor (main picture) said that they tried to report the leak to Thames Water but were unable to get through. Mrs Taylor, aged 60, said: “In the end, I just gave up because it was costing us money to hold. If it was an emergency, you wouldn’t be able to get through.
“At first it was a trickle of water but now it’s running fast. It’s literally going down the drain.”
Another Southend resident, Allister McIntosh, aged 74, also tried to call Thames Water but hung up after being put on hold for an hour.
He said: “I don’t think the residents should be punished with water restrictions when the water board isn’t doing its job properly.”
Newbury resident Simon Carter, of Porchester Road, was surprised to see a leak in Newtown Road on Tuesday afternoon. He said: “It is emanating from a manhole adjacent to the junction with the side road leading to St Petroc’s.
“I would have thought the water company would be making strenuous efforts to conserve what water we have, but apparently not.
“There are some blue lines painted at the site but no sign of any action whatsoever.”
This leak was reported to Thames Water on the afternoon of Tuesday, February 28, with engineers fixing the leak on Thursday, March 1.
Thames Water spokeswoman Natalie Slater said that the firm’s engineers had been incredibly busy over the past few weeks owing to the increasing number of burst pipes in the cold weather.
“We accept that it has taken longer than it should to get these leaks fixed and for that we apologise.
“However, it is vitally important to repair every leaking pipe especially as water levels are so low and we will have both of these leaks repaired by the end of the week.”
She also said that people who were having difficult reporting a leak to Thames Water over the phone can do so via Twitter: @thameswater.