Welsh Water insists it is making "good progress" to restore water to customers in west Wale - despite 900 properties still struggling without supply. A week of freezing temperatures meant that many water pipes were frozen and while measures were put in place ahead of the expected "rapid thaw" over the weekend, ground movement as the pipes thawed caused a huge increase in burst mains.
A large area of Ceredigion has been affected by the lack of water as well as parts of Pembrokeshire with even some areas of Carmarthenshire reporting having no water. Some residents have said they've been without water since Saturday morning.
A bottle water collection site has been set up in Llandysul and it took residents over an hour to enter the carpark where the water was being given out this morning. Residents are being given two packs of six litre bottles each. Nine schools were closed on Monday due to the incident.
READ MORE: Thousands of homes without water for third day after 'mass outbreak of burst pipes'
A spokesman for Dwr Cymru Welsh Water said: "We have made good progress overnight and as stated yesterday, we have managed to restore supplies to more than 1,500 customers in west Wales. As things stand at the moment we have around 900 properties which are without water and are expecting this to fall further over the coming hours. Approximately 200 of these are in Cardigan where our teams are working hard to restore supply.
"We do gain reiterate that as the systems return to normal, there is the risk of air locks developing which could still cause some temporary supply interruptions. Our teams are already working their way around the system clearing these locks.
"We have also replenished the bottled water stations at Llandysul and Newcastle Emlyn and Cardigan and also have static water tanks at these locations. The tanks contain clean water however customers will have to boil the water before using for drinking purposes and also bring a suitable container to transport the water home.
"We will continuing to work through the day resolving any remaining issues and continue to use our fleet of water tankers to put water directly into the system. Customers can also help by checking any taps not being used are turned off and if they do have a water supply then only use the water they need. Also for agricultural customers to check there aren’t any leaks on their external pipes. This will all help the system to refill. We would again like to apologise to customers for the inconvenience caused and thank them for their continued patience."
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