'Don't drink tap water' warning after Tenbury Wells pipe burst
Thousands of people in Tenbury Wells were told not to drink their tap water following a pipe burst - with Severn Trent handing out free bottled water in the affected areas.
Customers in the WR15 8 and SY8 4AU areas were advised not to drink their water - with 90,000 litres of bottled water available to collect - after a burst pipe may have allowed flood water back into the water supply.
Severn Trent said today: Customers in the affected areas are being asked not to use the water for drinking, preparing food or brushing their teeth.
"It can still be used for bathing, showering and flushing the toilet, but take care when bathing young children in case they accidentally drink the bath water.
"We're aware that some customers in these postcodes are supplied by Welsh Water but can confirm it's only Severn Trent customers who are affected.
"The problem's been caused by a burst pipe near Burford and we believe a small amount of floodwater may have got back into the pipe which means we can't guarantee the quality of the water until we get the system cleaned.
"The repair to the pipe's now been completed and our teams are rnow busy flushing the pipe and getting it disinfected so we can bring it back into use. This might take a little while and, until it's finished and until we've tested the water, we're continuing to advise people not to drink their water as a precaution.
"We’re really sorry for the inconvenience this is causing and we’re be working around the clock to get the issue fixed as quickly as possible. Pleaes bear with us while we do this but we need to be absolutely sure that your water is back to its normal great quality before we lift the 'do not drink' notice, and that will take us a some time longer yet. We'll let you know as soon as everything's back to normal so keep your on our website.
"We've had dozens of volunteers from across the company helping to hand out water, including some of our teams from North Wales, and some of them have even made it a day out for their families.
"We've had some great support from local people and from the Salvation Army, who have been offering us great support. We've also been working closely with the Local Resilience Forum, and have been delivering bottled water to local schools to give them the best chance to open tomorrow (but the decision will ultimately lie with the schools and the education authority).
"In the meantime, we've got 67,000 litres of water at the swimming pool and 23,000 litres at the hospital. We'll be open again tomorrow, and for as long as people in the area need us.
"On top of that, we've been checking on priority customers who might not be able to get out or who need water for medical reasons, and with organisations like care homes to make sure they have everything they need. We've been hand delivering bottles to them and dealing with other requests as and when we get them
"As our work continues we’ll be providing updates from our Twitter account @stwater.
"We’d just like to say how sorry we are that this has happened and can assure you we’re doing everything we can to get everything back to normal as quickly as possible, and also to thank everyone for their support, good humour and for the food they've been bringing to our teams on the ground."
It comes less that a week after a burst pipe affected thousands of residents in Telford.
Full list of affected postcodes:
WR15 8AA WR15 8AB WR15 8AE WR15 8AH WR15 8AL WR15 8AQ WR15 8AR WR15 8AZ WR15 8BA WR15 8BB WR15 8BE WR15 8BF WR15 8BG WR15 8BH WR15 8BJ WR15 8BL WR15 8BP WR15 8BQ WR15 8BS WR15 8BT WR15 8BU WR15 8BW WR15 8BX WR15 8BY WR15 8BZ WR15 8DA WR15 8DB WR15 8DD WR15 8DE WR15 8DF WR15 8DG WR15 8DH WR15 8DJ WR15 8DL WR15 8DN WR15 8DP WR15 8DQ WR15 8DR WR15 8DS WR15 8DU WR15 8DW WR15 8DX WR15 8DY WR15 8EA WR15 8EB WR15 8ED WR15 8EE WR15 8EF WR15 8EG WR15 8EH WR15 8EJ WR15 8EL WR15 8EP WR15 8EQ WR15 8ER WR15 8ES WR15 8ET WR15 8EU WR15 8EW WR15 8EX WR15 8EY WR15 8EZ WR15 8FA WR15 8FB WR15 8FE
WR15 8GB WR15 8GE WR15 8HB WR15 8HJ WR15 8HS WR15 8HT WR15 8HU WR15 8HX WR15 8HY WR15 8HZ WR15 8LE WR15 8NH WR15 8PF WR15 8PW WR15 8QE WR15 8QF WR15 8QZ WR15 8RA WR15 8RH WR15 8RJ WR15 8RQ WR15 8SF WR15 8SG WR15 8TA WR15 8TN WR15 8TP WR15 8TR WR15 8TZ WR15 8UD WR15 8WP WR15 8XA WR15 8XX WR15 8YP WR15 8YX WR15 8ZJ WR15 8ZY SY8 4AU WR15 8DD WR15 8EJ WR15 8EL WR15 8EN WR15 8EW WR15 8FDWR15 8GB WR15 8GD WR15 8PH WR15 8PN WR15 8PW WR15 8RG WR15 8TA WR15 8TB WR15 8TD WR15 8TE WR15 8TF WR15 8TG WR15 8TH WR15 8TJ WR15 8TL WR15 8TQ WR15 8TW
