A ‘critical valve’ has left thousands of people across south-west London and Surrey without reliable water supplies, affecting a major hospital and forcing schools to close. BERTIE WORCESTER-PARK reports
Emergency measures: households from Cheam to Carshalton, to Epsom and South Croydon, have been affected by the SES Water issues
Up to 4,000 households across Carshalton, Sutton, Cheam, Epsom and even South Croydon have had intermittent water supplies for three days, with SES Water criticised for its slow response to the emergency.
A “critical valve” at SES Water’s Cheam treatment works has restricted the flow of water to part of the network, says SES. The company has admitted that its water reserves are low.
As a first response, SES set up two water stations, at Bourne Hall in Ewell and the Upper High Street car park in Epsom, followed by stations at Cheam Library and Westcroft Leisure centre in Carshalton.
Today, Cheam High School will be closed due to health and safety concerns as it has no water. Nonsuch High School and Cheam Fields Primary School closed on Tuesday. St Helier Hospital has also been affected.
SES Water says it does not know how long it will take to fix the fault, but is asking residents whose supplies are unaffected to conserve water. Water may be cloudy when supplies are restored, SES Water says, urging residents to allow their water to run clear before drinking.
Many residents are angry at SES’s poor response in distributing supplies. “They’re expecting vulnerable people and families to travel maybe miles to a water station to collect bottles.
“Without a car, you’re not going to get what you need,” said one resident.
Bottling it: MP Luke Taylor was criticised for his opportunistic use of the situation
“My elderly mum has been waiting for two days for a call back from SES,” said another. “She’s unable to get to these bottle banks due to medical and physical problems, and I don’t live anywhere near to help her.”
Luke Taylor, the MP for Sutton and Cheam, has been taking stick on social media for posting a picture of himself at Cheam Library, grinning and pointing at a lorry load of water. “Using this for a photo op is not OK,” wrote one resident. “It’s really distasteful to use this situation for political gain.”
Taylor was also criticised for directing residents to Majestic Wine in Cheam, which actually held no water supplies.
Meanwhile, Inside Sutton has heard from residents in Rose Hill Court, St Helier, a Sutton Housing Partnership block with many vulnerable residents. The taps are completely dry, and the local Lidl supermarket has sold out of bottled water.
“Last night our local councillor, Steve Alvarez, turned up with a van load of water. It wasn’t enough, so he came back with another van full,” said a mother of two children, one of whom has special needs. Alvarez wouldn’t pose for pictures and didn’t point at anything.
“The water came back on for a while last night, but after most people had gone to bed. It was off again this morning,” the resident added.
Bottled water station locations
- Bourne Hall, Ewell KT17 1UG
- Upper High Street car park, Epsom KT17 4DU
- Cheam Library, Church Road, Cheam SM3 8QH
- Westcroft Leisure Centre, Westcroft Road, Carshalton SM5 2TG
- In emergencies, or to register vulnerable residents for priority service, contact SES Water on 01737 772000.
Residents should receive automatic compensation or credits from their water company, and the government is introducing reforms to increase compensation levels for those experiencing serious supply failures.
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ROTTEN BOROUGH AWARDS: In January 2024, Croydon was named among the country’s rottenest boroughs for a SEVENTH successive year in the annual round-up of civic cock-ups in Private Eye magazine
