News
Burst Pipe Leaves 100,000 London Properties Without Water
Water leak repairs are likely to be a top priority for Thames Water at the moment, given the fact that a burst pipe in London has left 100,000 properties with little or no water, with schools closed and hospital appointments cancelled as a result.
According to the BBC, postcodes W, KT and TW were all affected, with the water supplier saying that a fault at its works in Hampton had caused the issue and while repairs take place a bypass and water from elsewhere have returned services to normal.
“We’ve delivered hundreds of bottles of water to customers on our priority services list, including those with medical and mobility issues. We’re really sorry for the inconvenience we’ve caused today and the time taken to resolve the problem.
“We’ll be carrying out a full investigation into what caused the burst so we can take steps to stop it happening again,” Thames Water said in a statement.
In all, 30 schools and two children’s centres were closed, including Trafalgar Junior School in Twickenham which was left with no flushing toilets or washing facilities in the kitchen.
Do you know if you have a water leak?
News of this nature may well be the motivation you and your company need to find out if you have any possible issues with your network of pipes on site. A burst pipe is a massive inconvenience and can be incredibly expensive to repair, not to mention the potential cost of having to sort out water damage after the fact.
Unfortunately, it can be very difficult indeed to tell if you have a leak, since the majority of these will take place hidden below ground and are often so tiny that it’s almost impossible to notice until you suddenly see your water bills increase dramatically.
Having an audit carried out at work can prove very useful, as this will look for spikes in water usage and wastewater management charges, so it’s possible to tell if there is a leak – as well as how severe it is.
Once this has been conducted, leak detection can then be carried out across the entire site to locate all possible leaks that may be costing your business money. You’ll then receive a report of the findings, before excavation and repair work can take place, with all disturbed surfaces reinstated after the job has been completed.
You could also consider automated meter reading as an option, water monitoring technology that tracks the hourly water consumption of your business. This way, if there is a significant increase in consumption an alarm will be triggered at a control centre, which can then be passed onto you to take action and arrange for any repairs, if required.