UPDATE 7.30pm: Welsh Water have confirmed that the repair work to the damaged pipe is now complete (more detail below).
RESIDENTS in south Hereford could be without water overnight, as work to locate and repair a burst water trunk pipe continues this afternoon.
The burst main closed a road and is affecting homes, businesses and schools in south Hereford today.
Thousands of residents in the Belmont, Newton Farm, Redhill, Whitecross, Putson, Hinton, Hunderton and King's Acre areas of Hereford have had no water since around 1.30am.
A water collection point has been set up in the car park at the Tesco supermarket in Belmont this afternoon.
A second collection point has now been set up at Asda.
People without water are entitled to one pack of six bottles per person.
A Welsh Water spokesperson said vulnerable and elderly people who are unable to reach the water collection points should contact Welsh Water on 0800 052 0145 and sign up to their priority services list here.
The lorries are expected to remain on site for the rest of the day, and further water supplies are en route from Swansea.
Water tankers have arrived at various locations around the city to supplement the mains supply.
Work to repair the damaged trunk main was not able to start until daylight due to a nearby high voltage cable, and workers on site are still currently digging.
The spokesperson was not able to confirm when the supply would be restored, and it is possible that disruption may continue into tomorrow.
St Martin's, Our Lady's, Riverside, Marlbrook and Blackmarston schools were all closed this morning, while the Hereford Academy was closed for Years 7, 8 and 9 today, but open as normal for Years 10 and 11.
It is not clear whether the schools will reopen in the morning.
The burst pipe has also affected businesses in the area. McDonalds in Belmont and Tesco's cafe have had to close their doors due to a lack of water.
Welsh Water are currently on scene at Hoarwithy Road, which remains closed while workers track down the damaged section of pipe.
There is flooding in the area as a result, and Herefordshire Council has urged motorists not to ignore closure signs or drive into the water.
Winston Road is closed, and the council said motorists should not ignore the signs. Photo: Herefordshire Council / Balfour Beatty Living Places.
The council said Winston Road, one of the affected routes, could have debris underneath the water surface and it's not clear what condition the road is in.
Picture: Emma Caine
Ian Christie, Welsh Water’s managing director of water services, said tonight: "We are preparing to dig down to reach the burst water main. We need to do this safely as there’s a high voltage cable in the ground but thanks for bearing with us and really sorry for the inconvenience.
“We will be liaising with key sites in the area including schools and providing bottled water directly to those vulnerable customers in the area such as those on dialysis, on our additional needs register.
“We wish to apologise again for this and wish to assure you that we are doing everything we can to put things right and restore drinking water supplies as quickly as possible.“
A spokesperson for The Point4 has invited anyone who has been affected by the burst water pipe in Hereford today to use their facilities for showering and filling up water bottles.
Hereford Leisure Pool are also offering affected residents the use of their showers until 9.30pm.
“We have been dealing with a burst water main in the Putson area of Hereford today.
A spokesman for Welsh Water said at 9pm: "While the repair is now complete, we know that supplies to some customers in the Belmont, Redhill, Kings Acre, Putson, and Hunderton areas are still affected.
"We are very sorry for the ongoing disruption customers there are experiencing."
“Our team will be working throughout the night in the area to get the system back to normal, however it will likely be later tonight before all supplies are fully restored.
Lewis Clements: Outside the waterworks tonight, a queue of tankers to make sure people had water. Well done!
"We will also continue to have tankers operating in the area which will help with getting supplies back to normal.
“We provided bottled water directly to those customers on our additional needs register and we also have bottled water available for customers to collect at the Tesco and Asda car parks in Belmont.
“We wish to apologise again for the disruption caused by the burst and wish to assure everyone that we are doing everything we can to put things right and restore all drinking water supplies as quickly as possible."
- If anyone has concerns about their water supply, we would ask they call our helpline on 0800 052 0130.
- For customers who are deaf or hard of hearing and have the use of a textphone/Minicom, please ring us on 0800 052 4125
- Updates are also available via Twitter (@dwrcymru).
We’re dealing with a burst water main which means that customers in south Hereford may have no water.
— Welsh Water (@DwrCymru) November 7, 2019
Really sorry about this and we’re on site now. For more information and updates, please go to https://t.co/lL4UbrggIk pic.twitter.com/fM7ypeEWyP
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