Thames Water is facing criticism and anger from customers after one of its water mains burst, causing street flooding at the height of a drought crisis.
The burst 91cm (36in) water main prompted many road closures around Hornsey Road, north London as video of the incident showed streets submerged in more than a metre of water. It also left homes damaged and thousands of households without water.
The emergency services were called to the scene in the borough of Islington at just after 7am, the London fire brigade said.
Eight fire engines and around 60 firefighters were deployed to the scene on Hornsey Road.
A fire brigade spokesperson said: “Flood water is affecting Hornsey Road and Tollington Road.
“There are multiple road closures in place while crews work to make the scene safe. People are urged to avoid the area.”
A church in the area opened its doors to anyone affected by the flood. Liz Clutterbuck, the vicar of Emmanuel church, promised “jugs of water (for now!) and plenty of biscuits”.
Just before noon she tweeted that water levels had subsided, leaving many homes damaged.
Water is finally going down & fire engines are starting to leave. An awful lot of homes left damaged on the ground floor of the Harvist Estate, on Annette Rd & Hornsey Rd.
Massive change since 9.30am… pic.twitter.com/7rmgE78MkP— Liz Clutterbuck (@LizClutterbuck) August 8, 2022
Earlier she said: “The flood stretches all the way to Arthur Road. The houses between Arthur Road and Tollington Way have water above the bottom of their front doors.
“The Sobell [leisure centre] is flooded by several feet – could see it at least two feet high on the external exits in the car park. Water still seemed to be flowing fast an hour ago.
“They’re still working out how to evacuate those houses with water up to their doors.”
The flood comes as ministers have urged more water companies to impose hosepipe bans after the driest eight-month spell since 1976. Meanwhile, forecasters are predicting another heatwave with no sign of rain in many parts of UK.
The former Undertones frontman, Feargal Sharkey, who now campaigns on river and water issues, said the flood was the result of a lack of investment by Thames Water.
Retweeting images of the flood he wrote: “Now you know what decades of underinvestment looks like. Hornsey Road, London, N7 at 8:30 this morning. Wouldn’t that be right @thameswater.”
The Liberal Democrat peer, Baroness Ludford, also criticised Thames Water’s for under investment.
Residents in six postal areas reported either no water or low pressure. Some expressed frustration about the lack of updates from Thames Water on when supplies would return.
Come on @thameswater this flooding at Hornsey Road & Tollington Road happened at least 4 hours ago – please tell us what is going on
— Frances M Lynch (@francesmlynch) August 8, 2022
The company apologised to customers without water and said it was trying to resolve the problem as soon as possible.
In a statement it said: “Thanks for letting us know about low water pressure and no water in N1, N4, N5, N7, N10 and N16.
“Our specialist engineers are on their way to investigate reports of a burst water main, and we will be doing everything we can to get things up and running as quickly as possible.
“We’re really sorry if this has disrupted your day.”
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A member of staff at the Tollington Arms, in Hornsey Road, said: “It happened about 7am and within minutes there was flooding like a tsunami.
“The fire service were down very quickly and we hope along with Thames Water, they can get things back to normal as quickly as possible.
“It happened when the pub was shut but as we get through the morning, it may impact us but fingers crossed it gets sorted. We have got one eye on our cellar as that would get hit first. Let’s hope for a positive outcome.”
Last week Thames Water warned it may soon impose a hosepipe ban.