Thames Water apologises after 5-day water cut leaves 17,000 east London homes dry
Thames Water issued an apology after a burst pipe in Chigwell caused a five-day water outage affecting about 17,000 households in east London and Essex, forcing residents to rely on bottled water.
A burst water main on Chigwell Road in Chigwell, Essex on 9 August triggered a five-day supply failure that left roughly 17,000 homes on either side of the east London border without water, compelling residents to depend on bottled supplies. The problem was compounded by a second pipe rupture on Daisy Lane in South Woodford and by a heatwave that pushed temperatures into the mid-30s Celsius, the hottest summer recorded in the UK.
Local Labour-run council members condemned Thames Water’s handling of the outage, citing poor communication and severe congestion at bottled-water collection sites such as Fairlop Waters Country Park. Families reported long queues, inability to shower, and vulnerable members suffering in the heat. Thames Water said it posted updates on its website, worked round-the-clock to repair the pipe, supported vulnerable customers, and provided bottled-water stations and shower facilities at several community centres. The apology arrives amid discussions of a £10 billion rescue plan that could see the company temporarily nationalised, while council leaders demand a meeting with Thames Water executives and a full explanation of the incident.
