Bottle stations open as thousands still without water in Surrey
Thames Water says water will gradually be restored through the day.
Last updated 6th Nov 2023
Thousands of people in Surrey have woken up to another day without a mains water supply - following a fault at a water treatment works.
Bottled water stations have opened this morning (Monday 6th November), with those in need of drinking water able to collect bottles from several locations across Guildford and Godalming.
In a statement provided on their website, Thames Water said that the lack of supply was caused to problems discovered at the Shalford water treatment centre in the wake of Storm Ciarán.
A Thames Water spokesperson said:
"Shalford water treatment works is now back online, following issues caused by Storm Ciaran. We need to refill underground reservoirs which have run very low and expect supply to return over the next 24-hours. We’d like to thank our customers for their continued patience during this time.
“We’re very sorry to residents who are still experiencing no water or low pressure. Tankers remain in the area to pump water into the local supply network and we’ve re-opened two bottled water stations:
· Crown Court Car Park, Godalming, GU7 1HR and
· Artington Park and Ride, Old Portsmouth Rd, Guildford GU3 1LP
“We understand the frustration that residents have, which is why we are building up resilience in the area and have committed to invest in building a new 9km water transfer pipeline to connect part of the Guildford area to an alternative source of water.
"Works are scheduled to start early next year.”
"I'm fortunate because it's just me, but for people who've got families and things, it must be very difficult."
We've been speaking to some of the residents who have been affected by the supply issues.
Dean from Guildford told us:
"We ran out of water on Saturday afternoon and still haven't had any since. It was supposed to be on yesterday, but it hasn't come back on yet. It seems a bit of a shambles. "The local school is shut - we're just trying to get water now for the neighbours, my mum, because obviously you can't wash, you can't flush the toilet, or anything else."