20 August, 5:00pm
Our teams remain in the area following the successful completion of a complex repair, carrying out restoration work and continuing to carefully bring the network back to normal operation. This is needing to be done in a controlled manner to ensure its done safely and reliably while reducing the risk of any further issues.
Many are already seeing improvements to their water supply and pressure. Though, some will continue to experience lower pressure while the network fully stabilises, unfortunately, this will take some time.
We appreciate how disruptive this incident has been and again, would like to sincerely thank customers for their patience and understanding. We continue to monitor the network closely and make any adjustments needed to support recovery and improve supplies for everyone affected.
If you live in a block of flats, you may need to contact your managing agent to come out and reset your internal pumps if you're still experiencing issues with your water supply.
Often when your water returns it may be discoloured at first (rusty, white or milky in colour), this is normal. For further guidance on what to do when you experience this and other issues following an incident, please see our After An Incident Guide.
If you or someone you know needs a little extra support, our free Priority Services Register can help us to understand your situation so we can take it into account as best we can.
Thank you again, for your patience and understanding as we worked to get things back to normal.
20 August, 2:00pm
The hard work of our teams is continuing to deliver positive results, with water supplies and pressure improving across the affected area.
Following the successful completion of a complex repair, our teams remain on site carrying out restoration work and carefully bringing the network back to normal operation. This is a phased process that helps us restore supplies safely and reliably while reducing the risk of any further issues.
Many customers are already seeing improvements to their water supply and pressure. However, some properties may continue to experience lower pressure than usual while the network fully stabilises.
We understand how disruptive this incident has been and would like to sincerely thank customers for their patience and understanding. Our teams are continuing to monitor the network closely and make any adjustments needed to support recovery and improve supplies for everyone affected.
If you live in a block of flats, you may need to contact your managing agent to come out and reset your internal pumps if you're still experiencing issues with your water supply.
Often when your water returns it may be discoloured at first (rusty, white or milky in colour), this is normal. For further guidance on what to do when you experience this and other issues following an incident, please see our After An Incident Guide.
If you or someone you know needs a little extra support, our free Priority Services Register can help us to understand your situation so we can take it into account as best we can.
We know customers will want reassurance that we are doing everything we can to reduce the risk of similar incidents in the future. Once this incident is fully resolved, we will review the cause and use the lessons learned to strengthen the resilience of the local network.
We understand this has been a difficult disruption for many customers, and we would like to sincerely thank everyone for their patience, understanding and support while our teams worked around the clock to restore supplies.
We’ll provide another update by 20 August, 5:00pm
20 August, 9:00am
We’re pleased to confirm that the repair to the burst water main in Cockfosters has now been successfully completed.
This was a complex repair, requiring deep excavation and a section of the damaged water main to be replaced. Our teams have worked through the night to complete the work.
We are now focused on carefully restoring the local network to normal, managing pressures and flows as the system recovers to minimise the risk of further issues. This controlled approach means the network may take longer than usual to fully return to normal, but it will help ensure supplies are restored safely and reliably.
As water supplies are returned, the network will be brought back into service gradually. This allows us to carefully manage water flows and pressures across the area, helping to ensure a stable recovery and reduce the risk of any further issues. As a result, some customers may find that it takes a little longer for their water supply and pressure to fully return to normal.
Our teams will remain in the area, monitoring the network closely and making any adjustments needed to support recovery.
Often when your water returns it may be discoloured at first (rusty, white or milky in colour), this is normal. For further guidance on what to do when you experience this and other issues following an incident, please see our After An Incident Guide.
We know this incident has been extremely disruptive, and we would like to sincerely thank customers, local residents and businesses for their patience and understanding.
We are especially grateful to those who have adapted to temporary changes to their water supply while our teams carried out this essential repair work.
A bottled water station will remain open today for customers who still need bottled water.
Once the repair and network restoration have been completed, we will carry out a full review of the incident and our response. This will help us identify what worked well and where we can improve, with measures put in place to ensure we can respond more quickly and effectively should a similar incident occur in the future.
We recognise how challenging this incident has been for customers and local residents, and we sincerely thank everyone affected for their patience and understanding while our teams have worked around the clock to complete this complex repair.
We’ll provide another update by 20 August, 12:00pm
The burst water main on Bramley Road has affected customers in Cockfosters and nearby areas, with some residents experiencing low water pressure and others reporting no water supply at all.
Thames Water teams have been on site since the weekend, carrying out investigations, traffic management and repair planning. As the leak worsened, the company confirmed that a section of the damaged water main needed to be removed and replaced.
Tankers have been operating across the area to pump additional water into the network, with priority being given to locations with hospitals and other key services. Thames Water has also been delivering bottled water to customers registered on its Priority Services Register who are water dependent.
Bottled water stations have been opened at different points during the incident, including Forty Hall, Highlands School and Tesco Extra in Ponders End.
19 August, 7:50pm
We’re making good progress on repairing the broken pipe in Bramley Road and hope to have it fixed ahead of schedule overnight.
Once the repair is completed, we’ll then begin returning the area back to normal, but this will take time as it needs to be done in a controlled manner to ensure no further issues occur. Owing to the size of the area affected, the pressure will take time to build in the pipes, which is likely to take until the end of the week.
Often when your water returns it may be discoloured at first (rusty, white or milky in colour), this is normal. For further guidance on what to do when you experience this and other issues following an incident, please see our After An Incident Guide.
Tankers continue operating across the area pumping additional water into the network. There may be traffic management where they are set up.
Our bottled water stations are now closed and will be open again tomorrow, we'll update here in the morning with the locations and times they'll be open.
If you're collecting bottled water, our colleagues will load your vehicle for you. Please follow the guidance provided on site. For everyone's safety, please apply your handbrake, switch off your engine, and keep a safe distance from other vehicles while your car is being loaded.
We’ve been delivering bottled water to customers who are on our Priority Services Register as water dependent. Our teams will be working until late this evening and return to the area again tomorrow.
We’d like to apologise and thank you again for your continued patience while our teams work to finish what is a very complicated repair.
We’ll provide another update by 20 August, 9:00am
As of the latest update on 19 August at 4pm, Thames Water confirmed that two bottled water stations remained open until 9pm:
Tesco Extra
288 High Street, Ponders End, Enfield, EN3 4DP
Highlands School
Worlds End Lane, N21 1QQ
Thames Water has encouraged customers, where possible, to use the Tesco Extra bottled water station as there is more space and less traffic congestion.
Residents collecting bottled water are being asked to follow site instructions. Thames Water colleagues will load vehicles, and drivers are asked to apply their handbrake, switch off their engine and keep a safe distance from other vehicles while being loaded.
The disruption has caused significant concern locally, particularly for elderly residents, disabled residents, families with young children, people with medical conditions and those without easy access to transport.
Feryal Clark MP has written to Thames Water raising urgent concerns about the handling of the incident, including the scale of disruption, communication with residents, changing information around bottled water stations and the support available to vulnerable households not already on the Priority Services Register.
In her letter, she asked Thames Water to provide a clear update on the current position, expected timescales for full restoration, how bottled water locations were chosen, what further support is available, compensation arrangements for affected customers and what lessons will be learned from the incident.
Thames Water has apologised to customers and thanked residents for their patience while teams continue working to restore normal service as quickly and safely as possible.
The latest update from Thames Water on 19 August at 4pm stated that significant progress had been made during the day and work on a second shaft was close to completion. If no further issues are encountered, repairs are expected to be completed overnight. Once repairs are complete, the process of bringing the network back into normal service will begin, which is likely to take until the end of the week.
Residents are advised to continue checking the Thames Water update page for the latest information:
Thames Water Bramley Road update
You can also read Enfield Dispatch’s report here:
Chase Farm Hospital hit by Enfield water crisis
Love Your Doorstep will continue to share updates as they come through.
