Southern Water warns of burst pipes as they thaw out after days of frost

As water expands it freezes causing pipes to split – when the thaw comes the damage is revealed. In 2018, there was a similar disruption to the water supply following the so-called ‘Beast from the East’ weather event.

Southern Water says it has plans in place to deal with the possible increase in leaks and bursts, including:

:: Early and regular communication with customers to keep them informed, and importantly explain what they can do to help

:: Extra people on duty over this weekend

:: Ongoing close monitoring of all reservoir levels

:: A fleet of water tankers on stand-by to support supplies

:: Emergency generators ready to be deployed

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Tim McMahon, Southern Water’s water director, said: ‘The process of “freeze/thaw” proved to be a huge challenge for the entire country in 2018, and Southern Water is doing everything we can to ensure we are resilient and ready to respond if we face a similar challenge in the coming days. We cannot stop pipes bursting but we can make sure we have the teams, the technology and the processes to react quickly. By being ready, we can make sure any disruption to our customers and communities is kept to a minimum.’

Most of the water lost from the network during ‘freeze/thaw’ events typically comes from the pipes in customers’ own properties.

Mr McMahon added: “Everyone needs to be prepared – householders should know where their stop cock is to minimise water damage, know who to call in an emergency and remember to turn off water if you’re going away.

‘I am confident that Southern Water is now in the best place it has been to respond to any problems in our own network. Thousands of acoustic sensors across our network of 15,000km of water pipes can help us detect and pinpoint leaks and bursts quickly, and a new incident management system in our cutting-edge control room has improved our ability to respond quickly and predict where problems could come.’