Tavistock residents still without water after burst main

Some residents in Tavistock and the surrounding area remain without running water following a burst main that was repaired on Sunday, April 21.

There is currently no confirmed time for when full service will resume, although The Moorlander understands some supply is expected to return by tomorrow morning (April 23).

At 5.29pm on April 22, South West Water confirmed to The Moorlander: “As a gesture of goodwill and to make amends, we will be issuing compensation payments to those affected by this incident. We understand how crucial access to water is, and we are committed to providing customers with fair compensation for the inconvenience experienced.

"We will provide further updates on the specific compensation amounts in due course.”

Tavistock’s MP, Sir Geoffrey Cox KC, has called on South West Water to restore the water supply urgently to the thousands of residents in the Tavistock and Bere Alston area following a burst water main over the weekend, and has cautiously welcomed the news that the supply is expected to be restored by early tomorrow morning.

Sir Geoffrey said: “Having spoken to senior officials at South West Water throughout the last two days, I impressed on them the urgency that is required to restore water to the thousands of houses that are still without a reliable supply. It appears the supply will be restored overnight and will be in full operation by first thing tomorrow morning (April 23). 

"However, even if that is the case, this is part of a worryingly increasing pattern of poor service, and residents will quite rightly want answers; therefore, I am pressing for an early announcement on the compensation that SWW must make, by law, for the inconvenience to its customers and for a full and transparent explanation of why this problem occurred and how we can be reassured it will not happen again.”

The burst pipe affected around 13,000 properties, with South West Water reporting that customers in the PL6, PL19 and PL20 postcode areas may have experienced a loss of supply or low pressure.

The company confirmed the pipe was fixed by 5.30pm on April 21 but said it would take time for supplies to fully return.

A spokesperson for South West Water said: “The burst has been fixed, we are now just recharging the network but that will take some time.”

In a further update, the company added: “We are carefully recharging the network to be able to fully restore supply to our customers. This is a large and complex system, and it needs to refill properly and safely before we can bring it fully back into supply. That’s why it may take a bit more time for all customers to see their water return.”

Residents in Tavistock have told The Moorlander they are still without water as of Tuesday evening (April 22).

Some have said they have resorted to using water from the River Tavy to flush toilets.

Tavistock resident Paul Salt said: “Still no water in Tavistock PL19. On a positive note, neighbours helping each other out and sharing the bottles they have. I think most of us are surprised how much we need and depend on flowing water.”

South West Water said it has been delivering bottled water to its most vulnerable customers and has set up collection points in the affected areas.