Burst water main causes bad flooding and disruption in Bristol
Bristol Water says the incident started at 1:44pm this afternoon
Last updated 14th Oct 2022
A burst water main in Bedminster is causing chaos for customers across Bristol and forced the closure of several roads.
Bristol Water shared the impact of the burst main on social media earlier - saying the BS3, BS4 and BS5 postcode areas are affected - but the impact has been felt across a region far wider.
It's as a 30-inch 'strategic main' burst - with the water company having to isolate the area by re-routing supplies before fixing the pipe and repairing the highway.
This morning (October 14), a Bristol Water spokesperson said: "We’re pleased to confirm all customers affected by the burst water main in the Cumberland Basin should be back in water. Supplies started to return from around 5pm yesterday.
"We are currently working on a plan to start flushing water through pipes in the affected area. Flushing helps clean pipework after a burst like this. The damage to pipes can cause sediment to move, leading to discoloured water.
"If you’re experiencing discolouration or air in your water, run your taps for up to 30 minutes until the water clears. Please wait one hour and repeat the process if this does not resolve the issue.
"If you’re on a water meter and have needed to run your taps because of discolouration, you can apply for a refund by calling Bristol Water at 0345 702 3797.
"Clift House Road is expected to be closed until next week whilst we work with Bristol City Council on clearing the road. We are currently working with Bristol Sport to minimise the impact on tomorrow’s football match. We apologise for the inconvenience caused. We’re working as quickly as we can to get everything back to normal."
It's not known yet when it'll be fully repaired, but it's said to be in a matter of 'days and not weeks.'
From Bristol Water, Sam Bottomley is their Head of Network Operations, and said: "One of our trunk mains - a 30-inch main - local to a road burst, flooding the area, losing around 700,000 litres per hour. We closed three roads that were affected, emergency services attended, and we managed to identify where the leak was very quickly.
"We managed to get the water isolated at about 17:30 - but all our customers should be back and connected by the morning.
"There's a lot of water and debris too, which is being cleared and should reopen overnight, however, Clift Road will have to remain closed during our repair. We don't yet know how long that will take, but it should be a matter of days.
"The pipe is huge - a young child could walk up and down it, it's that sort of size as it handles such high pressures. To bring it into context, it's one of our main arteries that feeds several thousand customers and a number of service reservoirs - so if we hadn't been able to get the repair in, we would have a significant issue.
"Over the years, we've put resilience backups in place to replace it - and we suspect it's been affected because of the weather conditions these days.
"We have been seeing a lot of issues on mains, and we've had the busiest August and September on record for having to repair bursts. The ground is very hard, and this main is brittle when it's cold. The cold weather's come in, the ground is very hard, and so that's what we suspect caused the leak - but we can't confirm that fully until we get there to inspect it.
"For this main, we're expecting a six-figure sum - you wouldn't get much change out of £100,000 because of the damage caused.
"There will be disruption, and it stirs up sediment in the mains - so if you are seeing air and discolouration, run your tap for up to 30 minutes - and if that doesn't happen, wait an hour and try again.
"The positive bit is that we don't get any other dirt in, so we're not expecting anything new coming into the system.
"If you are out there, are vulnerable, or need bottles water - get in touch on our 24/7 helpline or visit our website."
Footage shared online shows Greville Smyth Park badly flooded, as is an underpass under the Cumberland Basin.
It is also causing heavy traffic in the area, all the way from the M32 Junction 3 at St Pauls.