Broken water pipe. Photo: Shutterstock A large burst water main is affecting water supplies across parts of south and southwest London, with Thames Water warning that some customers could remain without normal service while engineers carry out a complicated repair.
The utility company said on Monday, September 28 that its teams had located the broken pipe and were working to reroute water around the affected area.
Customers in and around Surbiton had started to see their water return after supplies were redirected, although Thames Water warned that pressure could remain lower than normal until the repair is completed.
The incident is affecting customers across a number of postcode areas, including KT, SW and TW districts, as well as parts of CR4 and SM4.
Thames Water said additional water was being diverted into the area to help restore supplies to more customers. The process is being carried out gradually and under controlled conditions to avoid creating further problems with the network.
The company said the location of the burst and the complexity of the repair mean that it is likely to take some time to resolve.
Earlier on Monday morning, Thames Water said it was dealing with a large burst water main that had affected a wider area. Its specialist team was sent to the scene to stop water from escaping from the damaged pipe and begin restoring supplies.
The company has also been delivering bottled water to customers who are registered as water-dependent on its free Priority Services Register.
The affected postcode areas currently listed by Thames Water are CR4, KT1, KT10, KT12, KT2, KT3, KT5, KT6, KT7, KT8, SM4, SW16, SW17, SW18, SW19, SW20, TW10 and TW16.
Thames Water said it would continue providing updates as work progresses. The latest update, issued at 11:25am on September 28, said another update was expected by 2:30pm.