Shepherd's Bush flooding: Swathes of London left without water for more than 24-hours after burst main sparked huge deluge in Goldhawk Road

Isobel Frodsham1 February 2018

Swathes of west London were left without water for more than 24-hours after a burst pipe flooded out a busy shopping district.

Engineers in Goldhawk Road battled to trace the source of the underground rupture which left homes, shops and businesses swamped. Nearby schools were closed and buses re-routed on Wednesday.

The leak triggered a knock-on effect with low pressure or total loss of water reported as far as away as Chiswick, Camden and Wembley.

Thames Water said an estimated 9,000 people were affected in Hammersmith and Fulham alone, while up to 15 homes were evacuated on Goldhawk Road.

Several shops and businesses were also unable to open, with the owner of one pub describing the loss of thousands of pounds in sales and stock.

A workman stands in ankle deep water
Isobel Frodsham

As the road closure remained in place last night, neighbours vented their frustration that they were still without water, despite engineers working round-the-clock to control the leak.

Emergency water supplies are distributed to people in west London
Nigel Howard

For some, it was the second time in a week they had been without water, following a burst water main in Ravenscourt Park on Friday.

Residents were offered emergency bottled water
NIGEL HOWARD

Aneta Swiatek, the manager at Shepherd and Flock on Goldhawk Road, told the Standard: “When I heard the alarm going off I thought it was a burglary at first, but then I saw the water.

Swathes of London were left without water
NIGEL HOWARD

“I went to check the cellar to see if the stock was ok but it was 3ft deep in water. The first sandbags came at 10am. We got a few but it didn’t help us at all.”

John McCann, the pub’s owner, believes they have lost about £1,000 in sales after having to close for the day.

Water damage: the flood approaches a west London pub
Kieran Cassie

“We’re not sure how much damage there is to our stock but I think it’s around £3,000,” he added.

Water swept down Goldhawk Road after a water main burst
John Dunne

Darren Dock, owner of post-production company West Digital on Goldhawk Road, said he and his staff were unable to leave the office all day.

“We had a leak in our office and called for a plumber to come round but he couldn’t get through the cordon, so he has to come back another time,” he added.

Meanwhile, Fabio Petito vented online: “Again without water (W11, Notting Hill). Never happened in my life, already three times this week.”

Karen Nairn wrote: “It’s been 12 hours and I’ve had hardly any water. We can’t flush our toilets. There are five adults and two children in my house. What do I do?”

And another person tweeted there was “still no solution” after five hours, adding: “It is impossible to believe we live in one of the most important capitals of the world.”

Engineers worked through the night to fix the problem
NIGEL HOWARD

A spokeswoman for Thames Water said this morning that water supply was slowly returning to normal, but that it had taken a “little longer” to resolve than initially thought.

Those without water could collect bottled water from two pick-up points at Woodmans Mews and Burn Jones House, off North End Road.

Thames Water is working to bring mains supply back to residents
Nigel Howard

She added: “We’ve now stopped water flowing from the burst pipe meaning water pressure in our network is gradually increasing and customer supplies will begin returning to normal.

“This will take time as we have to build the pressure up gradually to avoid causing further bursts.”

She added: “We’re really sorry to everyone who has been affected today and our customer team will stay in the area throughout the evening and tomorrow supporting anyone who needs help with their water supply or the effects of flooding.

“Getting things back to normal for those people is our top priority.”

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