Thames Water Chief Finance Officer Quits Days After Citizen’s Arrest

 From Citizens Arrest Network

It was announced on Friday that Thames Water Chief Financial Officer, Alastair Cochran, has quit his post at the private utility company with immediate effect just ten days after he was placed under citizen’s arrest.

On Tuesday 18 March, Rachel Whyte, accompanied by two other women from Citizens Arrest Network, entered Thames Water headquarters in Reading and informed staff they were there to place Cochran, as well as Thames Water CEO Chris Weston, under citizen’s arrest for multiple counts of Public Nuisance. The charges related to unsafe infrastructure and drinking water, mismanagement of customer funds, as well as the illegal discharge of sewage. Cochran and Weston refused to come down and speak with Whyte. However, Citizens Arrest Network informed Thames Valley police of the citizen’s arrests and they attended the scene, taking draft indictment papers and an evidence dossier detailing the accusations against Cochran and Weston upstairs to deliver to the two executives.

Thames, which supplies drinking water for around twenty-five percent of the UK, has been accused by staff members of knowingly withholding funds for essential water treatment chemicals, thereby placing drinking water supplies for their customers in peril and forcing employees to break their professional contracts to protect customers, with Cochran specifically named in the accusations. 

The arrest took place as households across the UK expect an average 25% increase in their water bills, while in 2024 Cochran was paid £1.3m, including a bonus of £446,000. 

Rachel Whyte, who placed Cochran under citizen’s arrest and is now, along with Citizens Arrest Network, pursuing the charges of public nuisance against him, said:

 

Last week I placed Alastair Cochran under citizen’s arrest for causing a public nuisance, by polluting our rivers and putting our drinking water at risk. I did it because I wanted Alastair, and other executives of the biggest polluting companies, to know that even if the government won’t hold them to account, ordinary people will.

The fact that Alastair has quit as Thames Water Chief Financial Officer, is a big win for Citizens Arrest Network but it doesn’t end here. Our legal system needs to do its job and hold these people to account, no matter how big their salaries or how influential they are. No one should be above the law.

The statement from Thames Water announced that Cochran would be out of post by Monday 31 March, though they did not offer any explanation for his abrupt departure.

The citizen’s arrests on the two Thames Water executives were followed by a further six citizen’s arrests on the leadership of four of the UKs biggest oil and gas companies, including Serica Energy Corporate Affairs Officer, Stephen Lambert, Chief Executive Officer Harbour Energy and former Shell Gas & Power CEO, Linda Z Cook, Enquest Chief Financial Officer, Jonathan Copus, Enquest CEO, Amjad Bseisu, Perenco CFO, Gilles d'Argouges and Perenco Group General Council, Jonathan Parr. [4] [5]

Draft indictment papers and evidence dossiers detailing the accusations against all eight of those placed under citizen’s arrest were submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service. Further Draft indictment papers and evidence dossiers relating to accusations of public nuisance against other oil and gas company executives have also been submitted, including for the CEOs of Shell and BP.

Time to work with Affinity on issues around water supply to the thousands of new homes planned for Wembley, Alperton and Northwick Park

There was some confusion at this week's Planning Committee when councillors discussed the Atlip, Alperton planning application. Cllr Saqib Butt asked about concerns raised by Thames Water over a previous application on the site. He was puzzled that they had raised no concerns over the revised application which was double the size of the original.

 

I went back to the recording to try and clarify what was said. It appear that the reference to Thames Water is about foul water capacity and the officer's reply merely says that there must have been some work on capacity in the meantime. 

In the north of Brent water is supplied by Affinity Water and dispersal of foul water by Thames.

The Committee papers show no consultation with Affinity as the suppliers on water  supply capacity and no assurance that they have to capacity to supply such a large development.

This is obviously crucial and can be set against the works on Watford Road that Affinity is currently undertaking to improve supply.

 Brent Council has confirmed that the works are essential to deliver the required water for the growth of development in Wembley and Alperton consisting of large blocks of flats and apartment which are built rapidly.

Currently there are 2,293 properties under construction and Affinity are aware of 3,905 proposed future developments. I am not sure if this includes the regeneration underway in Northwick Park.

Without the reinforcement works taking place immediately it has been modelled that an estimated 2,916 properties could experience periods without water and 5,084 with poor presssure within the Wembley area.

Some areas in the north of the borough already experience low pressure so it seems essential that Affinity are consulted at the planning stage of new developments and perhaps invited to Scrutiny to clarify the issues as Thames Water was in the past.

 

UPDATE: Thames Water says sewer service at Wembley Triangle restored and traffic should be back to normal by the end of today.

 

I was told to expect a statement from Thames Water about the situation at Wembley Triangle yesterday but none was forthcoming by midday today so I tweeted them at midday.  The incident began on Thursday. LINK

Their answer is above. 

UPDATE - Neil Levy of Thames Water has sent the following message:

We managed to work all night yesterday to repair the sewer and we have demobilised from the site now.

 
We found that the sewer was severely blocked with rubble, bricks and fat, which we believe may have caused a break in the pipe.

 
We have restored the sewer service and there has been no further flooding or pollution impact to the environment.

 
We apologise for any inconvenience this has caused but traffic should be back to normal by the end of today.

UPDATED: Thames Water report Wembley Triangle sewage leak. Potential pollution of Wembley Brook.

 

WEMBLEY TRIANGLE TONIGHT

 A resident reported: No engineer in sight but  no leak either. From Wembley Hill Road the road is closed to the left if you wished to go down Harrow Road. From Harrow Road coming into Wembley there is no right turn into Wembley Hill Road.

By all accounts is chaos, as from Wembley Hill Road you have no choice but to turn right into the High Road.  Vehicles are going across this junction and turning in St Josephs RC Church car park then leaping out to turn right on to Harrow Road towards NCRd.  A few are attempting to turn left at the triangle and  dicing with death as it doesn't appear that the traffic lights are giving them the option.

 Thames Water has reported to Brent Council that a 'big crack' opened up overnight on the road at Wembley Triangle. Sewage escaped from the main sewer about 3 metres below ground and cascaded into roadside gullies.

Thames have classified this as pollution as it leads into the Wembley Brook (of recent fame).  At the time of informing Brent Council. Thames said there had been no real impact on the brook at present but further work would be done today to investigate further and survey the pipe. This will establish the reapirs need to return the sewer to normal service and prevent any further flooding or pollution.

Wembley Matters has asked the Thames Water officer responsible for an update on the situation after today's investigation.

UPDATE: Thames Water: Statement re low pressure or no water in NW2 and NW10

 07.49 Update 01/08

 (Ed - Actually no change)

Thank you for letting us know about no water and low pressure in NW2 and NW10.

Our specialist engineers have now arrived and are working hard to get your water supply back to normal as quickly as possible. As soon as we have an update, we’ll let you know.

We're sorry if this has disrupted your day and will update this page when we have more news.

 

18.15 31/07

Thank you for letting us know about no water and low pressure in NW2 and NW10.

Our specialist engineers have now arrived and are working hard to get your water supply back to normal as quickly as possible. As soon as we have an update, we’ll let you know.

We're sorry if this has disrupted your day and will update this page when we have more news.

https://www.thameswater.co.uk/network-latest/nw2-nw10-bb70072401-310723

Thames Water - great video from Led by Donkeys

 Thanks to Led by Donkeys for this video:

Thames Water responds to some of Brent Scrutiny's requests for information - others remain unanswered

UPDATE Kilburn Life tweet on Monday April 25th

 

With recent experiences of flooding in the Brent area and the prospect of extreme weather events increasing, along with the large number of new developments in the area, Thames Water has been questioned at the Resources and Public Realm Scrutiny Committee. There appearances have resulted in more questions and requests for information. The Tracker table for the meeting on Tuesday April 25th includes updates for information requested at the February  22nd Meeting. LINK

Responses are still awaited on these important requests:

 

Below I list the Committee's requests and the answers received:

9^th February 2023

To receive a copy of the independent review into the events of and response to the floods experienced across London in July when published and Thames Water’s response to the review.

 

Thames Water: All reports can be found here - London flooding response https://www.thameswater.co.uk/about-us/investing-in-our-region/london-flooding-response

 

Remainder requested  22^nd February 2023

 

In relation to the Belsize Road burst water main incident in December 2022, provide detail on how Customer Guarantee Scheme (‘CGS’) compensation is calculated; the criteria for residents to receive compensation; and detail on how many residents’
compensation claims remained outstanding.

 

Thames Water: Where flooding has occurred, we have not paid out compensation directly.

However, as part of their insurance claim customers are entitled to pursue a claim for distress and inconvenience as part of their claim settlement.

For customers who lost their water supply, we have in place our Customer Guarantee Scheme (‘CGS’).

 

This is a scheme by which we automatically pay money into a customer’s account if they lose water for a 12 hour period. If someone is without water for 12 hours, then we will credit their account £30 without them having to contact us. For every extra 12 hours, we will credit another £30. Ofwat’s CGS is entitled in the below scenarios:

i. CGS 2 – Emergency interruption over 12 hours in duration
ii. CGS 6 – Planned un-warned interruptions over 4 hours in duration.
We defined a ‘planned job’ as a job that Thames Water have been notified of but not attended for over 24 hours.
iii. CGS 8 Overrun of a warning. Any duration if the interruption continues after the time we said the water would be restored.

Our process is to use the data available to determine the earliest start time of an interruption. This can either be valve operations, pressure telemetry data from assets such as Critical Pressure Points, Pressure Reducing Valve and various others, customer contacts advising of No Water or NST site feedback such as a 0 pressure reading. There are various systems for our team to gather this information, which we collect as evidence for audit purposes so each reportable interruption has an evidence pack to prove our reporting is accurate. Ofwat also have a rule called precautional principle, this is where we have 2 sets of data given us different results, such as 2 different times recorded of a valve operation. In these scenarios we have to take the worst case.

The average time people were out of water was 7.5 hours but as a number were out for over the 12 hour period, we have made 538 payments. We have written to more than 300 other properties which qualified as they are listed in the name of a housing company or local authority so we are finding out who will receive the payment.

 

With regards to recommendation 3 in the London Flood Review (LFR), provide further information on how many planning applications Thames Water had commented on/objected/challenged/made a recommendation for additional mitigation to avoid flooding over the last 5 years.

 

Thames Water: We do challenge planning applications, especially where they fail to meet London Plan / Local Plan policy requirements, although we can only object where there is clear evidence of not meeting existing planning policy requirements.

 
Planning applications reviewed in Brent over the last 5 years:

i. 214 sites reviewed
ii. 321 planning applications relating to those 214 sites
iii. Of those 321 planning applications, we received 213 applications direct from the Council, the other 108 we identified ourselves.

iv. Of the 241 sites, 42 sites had planning conditions requested
v. 63 specific conditions sought on those 42 sites
vi. Of the 27 sites where we sought conditions and planning has been granted, 20 sites have had them attached but on 7 occasions the council chose to approve without our requested conditions.

 

Provide detail on the investment in flood risk management in the Brondesbury Road area as this area has been prone to flooding.

 

Thames  Water: Regarding Brondesbury Road, our reports don’t extend pre-2008. We have the following reports of flooding:

• 2021 - Hydraulic (very heavy rain)
• 2013 - 1 Blockage
• 2009 - 2 Blockages

As such with only one internal flood reported due to heavy rainfall, this Road is not high on the priority flood action list. If Cllrs are aware of any unreported flooding, their assistance in encouraging its reporting would be much appreciated.

 

Thames Water under scrutiny on flooding: 'We have learnt lessons, we have applied them but it sounds like we don’t get it right enough'

 

 

 From the 'late' report presented to Scrutiny Commitee - Source: LINK

 

It was good to see some effective scrutiny at Wednesday's Resources and Public Realm Scrutiny Committee when a Thames Water representative appeared to report on surface water flooding in the borough. Criticism does tend to be sharper of bodies outside the council, but an awful lot of frustration was apparent and questioning from councillors was persistent. Chair of Scrutiny, Cllr Rita Conneely drew attention to the difference between a cash-strapped public sector council and a for profit privatised water company.

Cllr Saqib Butt challenged Alex Nickson from Thames Water on why in his  experience of 5 years on Planning Committee, Thames Water had always just said 'No Objection' to every planning objection. Nickson thought that was not the case in every borough and would check.  

Towards the end of the meeting Cllr Conneely directly addressed Nickson and I think is worth quoting in full to give you a flavour of the exchanges:

Thanks for attending and providing a detailed and helpful contribution, but unfortunately it has still left me with serious concerns about Thames Water's understanding of accountability and partnership working.

The flooding that instigated this entire process led to you attending our Scrutiny Committee in 2021. When Thames Water came last year, what was clearly communicated was that Thames understood that there had been a failure of accountability, there had been a failure of effective communication with the public and local authority, and that there needed to be clarity around responsibilities and accountability.

You said at the beginning of tonight's meeting that you were glad to be here and would be happy to come back again regarding future reviews. Unfortunately, the reality is that when we were inviting Thames Water to attend our meetings for the follow-up they had committed to last year, they were incredibly reluctant and tried to avoid attending for as long as possible. We really had to assert that it was part of our agreement last year that you would come back and report on what happened with the internal review and the independent review [into the floods]. 

Additionally, the Committee publicises reports, that is how the structure of the Committee works - it is a local government function, and Thames Water did not provide us with the documentation that was requested and necessary for the Committee. Your verbal responses tonight have been very good but as none of that unfortunately was provided in advance for Committee members to review, that has limited members' ability to properly scrutinise some of the issues that have been raised tonight.

In addition to that the report that was eventually provided late (LINK), about 2 days ago, couldn't be properly reviewed by the public either and was Brent specific in only one way  so we still have no understanding of what infrastructure upgrades we are going to see in Brent and what funding will be provided. Very few Brent residents at the end of this meeting are going to understand what these commitments mean to Brent - that is something we must see.  I really hope you get back to use regarding the information you have promised tonight very rapidly.

I would like to know that there is an Action Plan for the recommendations that are detailed in the Independent Review. How are we as residents and councillors to know when the recommendations will be delivered? Where are the lessons learnt?  Where will the promised further reports go, and what is the review process?

Alex Nickson replied:

It is entirely my fault that my report was late, I apologise for that, it should have been with you earlier. I didn't realise it was 'required' - I thought it was 'advised'. I apologise to the Committee and residents.

Regarding the Independent Review and tracking, my report says there are 28 recommendations, 3 of which are specifically for Thames to address. 25 of them are more strategic and relate to multi-agency collaboration. These should be reviewed as part of developing the London level strategy and will be determined by the London Level Surface Water Strategic Group as to whether they are appropriate. These actions may, or may o, be taken forward as determined by the Strategic Group. We need collaborative working to manage the risk and not all the actions are entirely down to Thames Water to deliver. There is a tracking process for them and that will be reported on.

You said you wanted us to give you an expectation of what upgrades will be coming to Brent and the level of investment. That will be set out in our next Business Plan 2025-2030, and it will be published for consultation this summer. I have committed to come back to the Committee to tale about out London Level Strategy and our draft plan. That will set out the high-level investment we plan to make. What I would stress is that surface water management is the responsibility of the lead local flood authority [Brent] and therefore it is for us to work with you and support you in the development of detailed plans for Brent - not for us to say what needs to happen: where and when, but a collaborative approach. I believe we have a good working relationship with the borough officers and look forward to doing this in the future.

Cllr Conneely responded.

That is a helpful reassurance but to reiterate, you say that of the 28 recommendations only 3 of them are the responsibility of Thames Water. We need a clear action plan of how Thames are following through those recommendations and effectively lobbying for them. Unfortunately, the concern of the Committee is that similarly to the assurances you gave to Cllr Saqib Butt about planning, which sounds nice on paper, but nothing happens in practice. I represent Kilburn where 17 families in my ward lost their homes in 2021. I'm not interested in words - the commitment we want to see from Thames Water is that there is going to be difference in practice.

My final feedback is on another key issue that was highlighted following the incident in 2021, and highlighted again tonight by Cllr Georgiou, about subsequent incidents involving Thames Water, that of poor communication, particularly around your Control Centre. In 2021 residents were calling up in desperate need of help and the Control Centre was totally unequipped to deal with it and couldn’t signpost residents to what they should be doing. They were simply told to call the fire brigade. As Cllr Georgiou has highlighted there was similar lack of communication last year.  I have at least 3 examples of residents in my ward contacting Thames Water about issues that were definitely their responsibility of residents being told, 'No, that's your local authority'. In one scenario for 3 weeks Thames told my residents that it was a local authority issue until I basically went and stood there for 2 or 3 days until a Thames Operative came out and said it was a sewage issue and your responsibility to resolve but for 3 weeks you told residents. ‘No – call your local authority’.

So, despite the reassurances we were given in 2022 that there had been a massive overhaul and there was going to be a massive training of your Control Centre staff, we have clear evidence in Brent that it continues to be not good enough.

Alex Nickson responded.

If there are particular instances  you’d like us to take up I’d be happy to take that away. Where we’re wrong, I can only apologise. We have increased the capacity of our Call Centre but on the evenings of the 12^th and 27^th of July we were absolutely swamped. We had 4,000 calls an hour coming in and we simply couldn’t manage. We have apologised. We have increased the capacity, we’ve done training, we’ve restructured the way the calls come in and we’ve fundamentally changed the way we prepare head of a storm.  We’ve made sure we have those resources even if the Met Weather Forecast suggests it is unlikely to cause significant flooding.

So, we have learnt lessons, we have applied them but it sounds like we don’t get it right enough.

I will publish the full recommendations made by Scrutiny when they are reported on the Council website.

Thames Water on River Brent pollution at last night's Scrutiny Committee

 

 

Readers who have followed with concern Wembley Matters coverage of raw sewage in the Wealdstone Brook and concerns over the River Brent, and who have been frustrated by what many saw as Thames Water's tardy response may be interested in the Thames representative's response to a question from Cllr Georgiou last night. Adequate?

Latest from Thames Water on the Belsize Road burst. Waiting for specialist fittings to be designed and made to repair the pipe.

 Crossing my finger for everyone  re water supplies over the holiday weekend.  Here is the latest from Thames Water on the Belsize Road burst:

We’re continuing with our repair work to the large pipe that burst on Saturday in Belsize Road.

The pipe – one of our largest – needs specialist fittings to be designed and made. Once they’re delivered, we’re expecting to complete the repair by the end of the week.

We’ll then focus on repairing the road surface. A short section of Belsize Road remains closed in the meantime.

We’re really sorry if this burst affected your supply. We’ve redirected water around our network while we fix the pipe, so everyone should now have water.

We also have teams working in the area to fix leaks caused by the recent rise in temperatures.

If you’re still experiencing supply problems, please let us know on 0800 316 9800.

Thank you for your patience while we’ve been working to get things back to normal.

If we have further updates, we’ll publish them HERE.

This evening's Thames Water Update current situation re no water/low pressure/bottled water station + COMPENSATION CLAIMS

 

We’re sorry if you’re experiencing supply and pressure problems.

Whilst most of our customers should now be back in supply following yesterday’s burst pipe in Loudoun Road, there have been some knock on effects to the pipe network that have caused issues for some.

If you’re still experiencing supply problems, we’ve re-opened our bottled water station at Willesden Sports Centre, in Donnington Road NW10 3QX.

Water Quality

As you’d expect, we’ve carried out a series of tests and can confirm there are no quality issues with the returning water supply.

You can find more information about what to expect as your water returns here.

If you’ve still got problems with your supply

We’re working to resolve these as quickly as possible. We’re really sorry for the ongoing disruption and distress caused.

We expect repairs to the original burst to take several days, and in the meantime, Loudoun Road is likely to remain closed for some time.

Details on our bottled water station

Our bottled water station is accessible on foot or by car. If you drive there, we can load water into your vehicle. It’s for essential use, like drinking, cooking and hand washing, so please be considerate and don’t take more than you need.

If you have a neighbour who’s unable to get to the site, please let us know and we’ll do our best to make sure our limited supplies are fairly handed out.

We’ll provide any further updates on this page when we have further information.

Editor's comment - COMPENSATION

 

 You can claim £30 compensation from Thames Water for loss of your water yesterday (more if you have still no water today or subsequent days) and should get it credited to your account within 20  working days There are also other categories if you were affected in additional ways.

 

LINK TO CLAIM FORM

Thames Water Update re continuing supply problems in the area

 Some people have taken to social media to say despite prmises that supplies would be back still have no water.

In the latest update this is what Thames Water said:

We’re sorry if you’re experiencing supply and pressure problems.

Whilst most of our customers should now be back in supply following yesterday’s burst pipe in Loudoun Road, there have been some knock-on effects to the pipe network that have caused issues for some.

We’re working to resolve these as quickly as possible. We’re really sorry for the ongoing disruption and distress caused.

You can find more information about what to expect as your water returns here.

We expect repairs to the original burst to take several days, and in the meantime, Loudoun Road is likely to remain closed for some time.

Update from Thames Water: Everyone should be back on supply

All customers should now be back in supply following yesterday’s burst pipe in Loudoun Road. We’d like to apologise if you were affected by this. Water pressures have been improving through the night. You can find more information about what to expect as your water returns here.

If you’re still experiencing no water, please get in touch to let us know.

We’re really sorry for the flooding and distress caused by the burst.

Planning continues on repairs to the pipe, which we expect to start later today. We expect this will take several days, and in the meantime Loudoun Road is likely to remain closed for some time.

We’ve rerouted water around the network to maintain supplies while we fix things.

LAST UPDATE FOR THIS EVENING: No Water/Low Pressure & Flooding NW1, NW2, NW6, NW8, NW10, W1W, W1, W2, W8, W9 & W10

FROM THAMES WATER

 

We are really sorry if you have been affected by the earlier burst pipe in Loudoun Road. All customers should now be back in supply. Pressures is returning to the affected areas and will continue over the coming hours. You can find more information about what to expect as your water returns here.

If you’re still experiencing no water, please get in touch to let us know.

The bottled water station at Willesden Sports Centre, in Donnington Road NW10 3QX remains open until 11 pm this evening for any customers still experiencing low water pressure.

It’s for essential use, like drinking, cooking and hand washing, so please be considerate and don’t take more than you need., we can load water into your vehicle. Our bottled water station is accessible on foot or by car. If you drive there

If you have a neighbour who’s unable to get to the site, please let us know and we’ll do our best to make sure our limited supplies are fairly handed out.

If you’ve been affected by flooding

Our loss adjusters will back at Swiss Cottage Library tomorrow from 9 am. The loss adjusters will be available to talk to residents who’ve been flooded to help with the next steps.

We’re really sorry for the flooding and distress this has caused.

Planning continues on repairs to the burst pipe. It’s one of our biggest, measuring three-and-half-feet across, so we’re expecting this to take several days. Don’t worry – we’re rerouting water around the network to maintain supplies while we fix things.

This will be our last update of the evening. Please check back  tomorrow for updates.

Water Latest - Saturday 8.20pm: Bottle station opened at Willesden Sports Centre in Donnington Road

Thames Water Update

Water is now returning across the area, and pressures will continue to build over the coming hours. We expect all supplies to be back tonight, following the earlier burst pipe in Loudoun Road.

If you still need water, we’ve opened a bottled water station at Willesden Sports Centre, in Donnington Road NW10 3QX. For more details, see below.

If you’ve been affected by flooding

We have a loss adjuster and support staff at Swiss Cottage Library, where Camden Council is running a rest centre. They’re talking to residents who’ve been flooded, to help with the next steps. Loss adjusters will return to the library tomorrow.

We’re really sorry for the flooding and distress this has caused.

If you have no water or low pressure

We’d like to apologise too if your supply has been affected by this. If you’re still without water, you should still be able to use your heating.

As supplies start to return across the area, you can find more information about what to expect here.

Planning continues on repairs to the burst pipe. It’s one of our biggest, measuring three-and-half-feet across, so we’re expecting this to take several days. Don’t worry – we’re rerouting water around the network to maintain supplies while we fix things.

We’re also continuing to deliver bottled water to customers in vulnerable circumstances.

Details on our bottled water station

Our bottled water station is accessible on foot or by car. If you drive there, we can load water into your vehicle. It’s for essential use, like drinking, cooking and hand washing, so please be considerate and don’t take more than you need.

If you have a neighbour who’s unable to get to the site, please let us know and we’ll do our best to make sure our limited supplies are fairly handed out.

LATEST UPDATE FROM THAMES WATER ON WATER SUPPLY IN BRENT & CAMDEN - supplies expected to return over next few hours and into the night

 

We’re starting to see water pressures gradually improving as we begin to refill our supply network, following this morning’s large burst pipe in Loudoun Road.

We’ll continue working on this and expect supplies across the area will start to return over the next few hours and into tonight.

If you’ve been affected by flooding

We have loss adjusters and support staff at Swiss Cottage Library, where Camden Council is running a rest centre. They’re talking to residents who’ve been flooded, to help get their lives back on track.

We’re really sorry for the flooding and distress this has caused.

If you have no water or low pressure

We’d like to apologise too if your water supply has been affected by this. If you’re without water you should still be able to use your heating.

As supplies start to return across the area, you can find more information about what to expect BELOW

We’re working to repair the pipe. We already have some construction vehicles on site and others on the way so we can get moving as quickly as possible.

We’ve also been delivering water to vulnerable customers in the area, and are continuing to do so.

Why did it take time to stop the burst?

It took our engineers time to stem the flow safely, as they needed to switch off a number of valves at different locations, some of which were under parked cars or submerged by flood water. They also needed to make sure when operating them that this didn’t lead to a further burst pipe elsewhere.

We’ll provide more information here as soon as we have it. 

 

WHAT TO EXPECT

 

 

We’re sorry if you’ve unexpectedly had a problem with your water. We know how difficult it is when your supply is disrupted.

Why didn’t we warn you?

Sometimes, this type of issue is impossible to predict. For example, a water pipe might burst, there could be an unexpected issue at a treatment works, or one of our pipes could have been damaged. Whenever there’s an emergency of this sort, we’ll work as fast as we can to get things back to normal.

My water looks cloudy – why is that?

If your water looks cloudy when you turn your tap back on, it’s likely to be tiny air bubbles trapped in the water, which sometimes happens when pipes burst.

This is harmless, and if you pour a glass of water you should see the bubbles clear from the bottom of the glass upwards. The cloudiness should disappear if you run your cold kitchen tap for a couple of minutes. Learn more about this on our help page.

Why is the water coming out of my tap more slowly?

Sometimes the force that pushes water through the pipes, known as the pressure, can take a while to build up again following an incident, so please allow time for this.

At first, your water might splutter out of your tap when it comes back on, but this should clear if you run your cold kitchen tap for a couple of minutes.

What should I do if I have another problem with my water?

Occasionally a burst pipe can cause other issues – for example, if a large amount of air gets trapped in your water pipes. If you continue to experience problems with your water or you notice any unusual taste or odour, please contact us.

What if I need extra support in the future?

Could you, a family member or a friend benefit from a helping hand during a similar incident – for example, due to health reasons, disability or age? Find out more about the free support we can provide when you sign up to our priority services register.

Will I get compensation?

You won’t need to apply for compensation. If you qualify for a payment under our Customer Guarantee Scheme, we’ll automatically credit your Thames Water account within 20 working days.

FURTHER UPDATE: FLOODING Rest Centre opened in Swiss Cottage Library: Flow now shut off REFILLING NETWORK

On top of the cold weather residents in Brent and Camden are having to deal with the impact of a burst water main in NW6 this morning leading to no water or low pressure in some areas as well as basement flooding in Kilburn.

 VIDEO    VIDEO

 

Thames Water updated their information  at 9.30am this morning:

 

NW2, NW6, NW8 and NW10

No water or low pressure

Last updated: 17/12 09:30

---

We’re sorry if you’ve been affected by the burst main pipe in NW6.

We’re working with the local emergency services to make sure all residents are safe as a priority, whilst our engineers continue to shut off the pipe valves in the surrounding area.

If your home has been flooded, we’re so sorry, we know this must be very distressing. Camden Council are working to secure a warm, safe space for residents.

Our support teams are on their way to help customers experiencing low pressure or no water. Whilst we work on boosting supply, we’ll be delivering bottled water for essential use to our customers in the most vulnerable circumstances on our Priority Services Register.

We’ll update you HERE as soon we have more news.

 

FURTHER UPDATE

 

We’re working with the emergency services and Camden Council to support residents following a large burst pipe in the Belsize Road area early today.

We’re sending loss adjusters and support staff to site to talk directly to residents.

Our engineers are still working to turn off the flow of water as quickly as possible.

The council is running a rest centre at Swiss Cottage Library, and we’ll be sending staff there.

We’re really sorry for the flooding and distress this has caused. Once the flood water has receded, we’ll be focusing on getting local residents’ lives back to normal.

We’d also like to apologise for any impact this is causing to supplies in the wider area. We’ll be working to restore water as soon as we can. 

We’re really sorry for the distress the flooding and supply issues have caused. Loss adjusters and support staff will be onsite at Swiss Cottage Library to talk directly to flooded residents about getting life back on track

 

 

UPDATE 13.56

Our engineers have now shut off the flow from a large burst pipe in Loudoun Road.

It’s taken time to achieve this safely, as they needed to switch off a number of valves at different locations, some of which were under parked cars or submerged by flood water. They also needed to make sure when operating them that this didn’t lead to a further burst pipe elsewhere.

We have loss adjusters and support staff at Swiss Cottage Library, where Camden Council is running a rest centre. They’ll be talking to residents who’ve been flooded, to help get their lives back on track.

We’re really sorry for the flooding and distress this has caused, as well as the impact on local water supplies.

Once we’ve been able to turn off the water, we’ll focus on refilling the network – we don’t yet know how long this will take but will update you as soon as we can. In the meantime, customers who are without water should still be able to use their heating. 

 If you are or someone in your household is on Thames Water's priority services register, they can arrange to have bottles of water delivered to you. You can ring them on 0800 316 9800 -

 LATER UPDATE

 

Our engineers have shut off the flow from a large burst pipe in Loudoun Road.

It’s taken time to achieve this safely, as they needed to switch off a number of valves at different locations, some of which were under parked cars or submerged by flood water. They also needed to make sure when operating them that this didn’t lead to a further burst pipe elsewhere.

If you’ve been affected by flooding

We have loss adjusters and support staff at Swiss Cottage Library, where Camden Council is running a rest centre. They’ll be talking to residents who’ve been flooded, to help get their lives back on track.

We’re really sorry for the flooding and distress this has caused.

If you have no water or low pressure

We’d like to apologise too if your water supply has been affected by this.

Now that we’ve been able to turn off the water, we’ll focus on refilling the network – we don’t yet know how long this will take but will update you as soon as we can. In the meantime, customers who are without water should still be able to use their heating.

We’ve also been delivering water to vulnerable customers in the area, and are continuing to do so.

We’ll provide more information here as soon as we have it.

 

FROM LONDON FIRE BRIGADE

 

Eight fire engines and around 60 firefighters have been called to flooding on Belsize Road in Camden.

A 42-inch water main has burst, causing flooding to a depth of around 50cm across an area of around 800 metres. This has now been isolated. There is a further 15 inch water main that has burst. Around 100 properties are affected by flood water.

Firefighters and Hazardous Area Response Teams have led around 25 people to safety.

The Brigade's 999 Control Officers have taken 18 calls to the flood.

Station Commander Gary Deacon, who is at the scene, said: "This is a significant flooding that has affected around 100 properties and left thousands without water. Shift water rescue crews used boats to move around 20 people to upper floors of properties. Three adults and a child were evacuated to a place of safe haven.

“A number of residents have decided to remain in their properties and we’re patrolling the affected area to assist any further people who require assistance.

"There are numerous road closures in place and we're asking people to avoid the area where possible.

"The water authority are working to isolate the burst water main and firefighters are expected to remain at the scene throughout the afternoon.

"Crews are using flood barriers and a high volume pumping unit to divert flood water.

"A rest centre has been set up for affected residents at Swiss Cottage Leisure Centre."

The Brigade was called at 0250. Crews from West Hampstead, Kentish Town, Euston, North Kensington and surrounding fire stations are at the scene.