Thousands without water across south London after major pipe bursts

Fights have broken out over bottled water after a burst pipe has left thousands of people across south London without working plumbing.

Thames Water has said they have had to close their distribution hub in Sainsbury’s car park in Lower Sydenham after ‘security incidents’ as desperate customers foughtfor their share.

Keiran said on X: ‘Went to the water cache, as expected it had run out due to certain individuals taking whole palettes and loading them into the car.

‘Some fist fights… there was water in the Sainos… I just assumed there wasn’t.’

Thames Water said: ‘Unfortunately due to some security incidents we have had to close the bottled water station located at Sainsbury’s Southend Lane, SE26 4PU for the rest of the evening.

‘We appreciate the frustration many customers are feeling at the moment however due to the incidents we may be delayed opening the bottled water station tomorrow morning.’

While water has been restored to 5,000 people in West Norwood, problems persist for people in Crystal Palace and Sydenham this afternoon.

The areas include Crystal Palace, Sydenham and surrounding neighbourhoods with postcodes SE19, SE20, SE23, SE26, SE27, and SW16 affected.

People have reported a complete loss of water in these areas and a lack of water pressure.

The water outage is because of a burst pipe in Crystal Palace and Thames Water says engineers have been working throughout the night to fix the issue.

It is also dealing with a separate leak at Crystal Palace pumping station.

Charlie Goodman, lives in Forest Hill, and told Metro that he’s still without water this afternoon.

‘I woke up around 6am and there was no running water,’ he said.

‘I have a water filter in the fridge and I try to keep the kettle half full, so at least I could have tea and coffee.

‘The local cafe I use St David’s, ran out of water around 12 which means they’re down to paper cups and not able to wash up.

‘I’ve not had the offer of bottled water as far as I’m aware. Because of this happening, I keep water in the flat so at least I can wash my hands and flush the toilet.

‘This has happened before around November/December time and it was out pretty much for a week.

‘There was no communication from Thames Water and no info for days on their website that there was any problem at all, despite it impacting much of my immediate area including the cafe.

‘At least this time there is information on their website and it does seem to be occasionally updated.’

Micon Metcalfe, a local who lives in West Norwood, told Metro that she has been without water since 4pm yesterday.

‘We had no water for washing and flushing loos or even drinking this morning.

‘We’ve had periodic issues with supply in the winter – lots of burst pipes but this is the longest we’ve had no supply for a long time.

‘We used some water from an outside garden canister to heat up for washing.

‘Thames Water have given updates periodically but no actual timescales. They’ve said they have re-routed supply but our street has no water and has not for 16 hours.

‘Thames Water say they are liaising with priority customers but there is no bottled water available yet for other residents.’

Gjergj Pjedij, the owner of Roasted Bean, in Crystal Palace, told Metro that while his water pressure is ok at the moment, he’s experienced water pressure issues recently.

He said: ‘We’ve had problems with our water at the cafe in the past, a couple of Saturdays back now.

‘While the pressure seems fine for us this morning, it really impacted business at the time.

‘It doesn’t help when water pressure can drop at any moment and I hope others in the area are not affected too badly.’

Another person who lives in West Norwood told Metro the supply has started to come back.

They said: ‘Thames Water offered no advice on what to do if we ran out of drinking water.

‘This whole area constantly has mains leaks leading to supply issues and road closures – this has been going on for years.

‘They have kept us updated on the situation by SMS though.’

George McGowan, lives in Streatham just north of the common with his partner and he told Metro that the water pressure started to return at midday.

‘There was a little bit of water built up in the pipes overnight so we could get a few cups out so not much water in the morning,’ he said.

‘We were not handed any bottled water but some people in a care home near me got offered it.’

Emma Lunn, 51, who lives in Sydenham, told Metro she had virtually no hot water and her cold water also stopped this morning.

While her water has started to slowly start working again, she was also offered no bottled water.

As of 12.40pm this afternoon, Thames Water said it has restored water supply to 5,000 people but many areas continue to experience no water or low pressure.

The water company also said in a statement on its website: ‘We’re pro-actively contacting everyone in the affected area who has pre-registered with us as having special requirements, such as being medically reliant on water, so we can make sure we give them the help and support they need.

‘We are also in the process of identifying a bottled water station in the affected area.’

Thames Water also confirmed that flooding at Crystal Palace Pumping Station has contributed to some of the water problems.

Londoners are not happy today and many have taken to social media to express their anger.

Many in particular are angry that water bottles have not been given out more promptly.

One wrote: ‘More than 12 hours without water in West Norwood. We don’t have water to drink and flush the toilet.’

Others across London have also reported similar issues trying to flush their loos.

Somebody else commented: ‘Any updates on the SE27 water situation? No updates since 1am on your website and we have had no water for over 14 hours.’

Dulwich Wood councillors Andy Simmons and Catherine Rose tweeted: ‘We are chasing Thames Water about low water pressure & loss of water in parts of the south of the ward (SE19, SE21, SE26).

‘This is due to a burst water main on Alleyn Road and flooding at the local pumping station. Please get in touch by email if you are experiencing problems.’

Emergency measures including the redirecting of water through alternative pipelines has been installed.

Some residents have reported cloudy water with bubbles in their supply.

This is caused by trapped air in the pipes while work is carried out to fix the issue.

The news comes after Ofwat confirmed it had launched an investigation into Thames Water over concerns it will not complete more than 100 environmental schemes funded by customers.

It will look into whether Thames Water breached its licence.

Thames Water said it pledged to carry out 812 schemes as part of a wider national programme between 2020 and 2025, to meet national regulations.

But Ofwat said it was told by Thames Water that it would be unlikely to complete more than 100 of these schemes by the end of March deadline.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

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