People are queuing for bottled water with no end in sight for communities that have been left without tap water. Welsh Water said they are dealing with a "threefold increase" in burst mains compared to normal after a "rapid thaw" over the weekend.
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. According to the water agency, the issue was also exacerbated by the heavy rainfall, which made it difficult for leak detection to work.
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 sine Saturday morning.
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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. One resident told WalesOnline that the delivery drivers are expecting to be attending the area until Wednesday.
Nine schools were closed on Monday due to the incident. The schools closed are: Ysgol Ciliau Parc; Ysgol Llangwyryfon; Ysgol Gynradd Aberteifi; Ysgol Dihewyd; Ysgol Talgarreg; Ysgol Llannon; Ysgol Gyfun Aberaeron; Ysgol Bro Teifi and Canolfan Aeron, Ceredigion Pupil Referral Unit (PRU). It is not known whether they will open on Tuesday.
Due to the sheer amount of burst pipes Dwr Cymru are dealing with, in addition to the difficulty with finding those leaks due to the rain, there is no knowing when every home will be back with water. More water is being pumped through the system to help combat the poor water pressure some homes are experiencing.
A statement from Welsh Water said: "We apologise to any of our customers who have lost supply over the weekend. Following last week's prolonged freezing temperatures, we put plans in place ahead of the rapid thaw over the weekend across our operating area. However due to the ground moving as it has thawed, we have seen a threefold increase in burst mains compared to normal. We have had our full emergency response team mobilised to deal with the situation and had more than 750 colleagues out working to find and fix leaks as quickly as possible.
"In rural Ceredigion our response has been hampered due to the number of burst mains in the area and leak detection has been hampered further by the heavy rain on Sunday. We have however been taking steps to try and restore supplies by putting 25% more water through the system there – which is more than was needed during the peak of the summer heatwave – and also using our fleet of tankers to move water around. We have also supplied 30,000 bottles of water and also ensured that we delivered water to customers on our priority services register.
“We are hoping that parts of the network in the area will re-pressurise during today and bring more customers back onto supply. Customers can also help by checking any taps around their properties are turned off. We are also moving more resources into the area to help restore supplies. At this stage however we are unable to confirm when all supplies will be returned but we are working as hard as we can to do so. We again apologise to customers for the inconvenience caused and thank them for their patience”.
Councillor Elizabeth Evans said that she has heard the bottled water station in Llandysul had run out of water by 1.30pm. She is working with Ceredigion Council to distribute water to those in need.
Elizabeth said not all homes are without water in the area and those who have got their taps running are filling bottles and opening their homes to their neighbours. She also added that the council have also sourced water bottles which will be distributed to the most vulnerable.
"We are really relying on the community to help us identify those who need it. We have been out knocking doors and leaving it on doorsteps if they don't answer. The truth is we just don't know when it is going to be back on."
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