Over 24,000 residents in the Burnham-On-Sea area saw their taps run dry after an underground pipe ruptured in East Brent.
The repairs were completed last night and normal service has since returned.
“Water supplies are now back to normal for the affected area,” said Bristol Water spokesman Paul Kelson. “Overnight the reservoir has slowly been filling and we have carefully restored the water supply whilst flushing the mains for any air or dirty water.”
“We apologise for the inconvenience this emergency caused and thank customers for their patience.”
Further updates:
6.50AM: Bristol Water says that following the burst main it is possible that some customers are experiencing some orange or brown discolouration to their water. It adds: “This occurs when particles of iron normally deposited on the bottom of the iron water mains are disturbed by changes in flow. If you experience this problem when your supply is restored we advise you to run the first mains fed coldwater tap in your house (usually the kitchen tap) for a period of 30 minutes. If the water does not clear after this time please contact 0845 702 3797 as we may need to flush our water mains to remove any residual discolouration.”
6.30AM: Bristol Water adds: “Occasionally air can enter the main as it is being refilled after the repair. Under mains pressure the air will dissolve into the water. When you turn on your tap, the water is no longer under pressure and the air forms tiny bubbles which can make the water appear milky or cloudy. In these instances water left standing in a glass will clear from the bottom up. The air will normally dissipate after one or two days but if it persists beyond this time please contact us on 0845 702 3797.”
5.20AM, Friday: Bristol Water says water supplies are now back to normal for the 24,000 people affected. Overnight the reservoir has slowly been re-filling and this has now been completed.
Thursday’s updates:
11.25PM: An update from Bristol Water states: “The bottled water supply distribution in Tesco’s car park has now closed for the night, however large tanks of water are still available at Morrisons and Asda through the night. You will need to bring your own containers.”
11.20PM: 50,000 bottes of water have now been handed out to people in the Burnham area by Bristol Water.
10.50PM: Anyone requiring urgent water supplies can call Burnham Churches Together on 07712 013314 to have supplies delivered in the Burnham and Highbridge areas. Please note this is for urgent supplies only.
10.45PM: This video from a Burnham-On-Sea.com reader shows the burst water main flooding the road at East Brent during Thursday morning.
10.40PM: An email from reader Clare Hunter reads: “I wanted to say a big thank you to the team of police and Bristol Water guys who were giving out the water at Tesco in Burnham. I arrived at a very busy scene, and even though there was a large queue of people waiting, the team did a great job reassuring people that more was on the way and all was being done as quickly as they could. I watched several vans carrying water to and from Cheddar supply people with water and think they deserve to be commended for the patience and assistance they showed us today. In particular, one of the gentlemen gave me his jacket to wear while I waited as it started to rain – a kind gesture you certainly don’t see much anymore!”
9.10PM: A huge water lorry arrived outside Tesco, where a large queue of approximatey 150 residents was waiting.
8.45PM: The burst water pipe has now been fixed, Bristol Water tells Burnham-On-Sea.com but it will be several hours before water supplies are restored. “We cannot begin to send water into the area affected until the main has been pressure tested. If this all goes to plan then we can begin to refill the reservoir and carefully bring supplies back,” added the spokesman.
8.15PM: Some residents in Highbridge are unhappy at having to queue for over four hours in Highbridge for water outside the town’s Asda store.
Christine Foey told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “No-one seems to know what is going on – the organisation by Bristol Water has been terrible. They keep saying water is coming and that’s gone on for hours.”
7.45PM: A large water truck has arrived in Highbridge’s Asda car park for the waiting queue of residents there.
7.20PM: The large water tanks in the car park at Morrisons in Burnham are now in use but residents need to bring their own containers to take this water.
7PM: Volunteers from BARB have been delivering water supplies to local residents who are unable to collect water for themselves. The team was operating under the Somerset Civil Contingencies unit.
6.40PM: Eight large water tanks are now in the car park at Morrisons in Burnham. Residents will need to bring their own containers to take this water.
6.30PM: Highbridge Furntiture Shop on the Morland Estate has become a distribution point to give out water.
6.25PM: Bristol Water says it hopes to reconnect tap water supplies to the Burnham area overnight if work goes as planned on repairs to the burst water mains at East Brent tonight.
“Work on the repair is continuing with the new pipe in place. Connections are being made which will allow us to start to fill this section of pipe. We cannot begin to send water into the area affected until this main has been pressure tested. If this all goes to plan then we can begin to refill the reservoir and carefully bring supplies back. This will involve teams of staff opening hydrants where needed to flush the mains of any dirty water and let any trapped air out. This whole process and the restoration of supplies is likely to take the rest of the evening and this assume we do not run into any problems,” said a spokesman.
6.10PM: Fresh bottled water supplies have arrived outside Burnham’s Tesco store.
5.50PM: Long queues are continuing to grow outside Burnham’s Tesco store for bottled water supplies.
4.45PM: Bristol Water spokesman Paul Kelson earlier told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “The excavation at the burst mains site has revealed that we will need to replace a complete section of pipe. We are currently enlarging the area where the burst took place to gives us the space to do the replacement. The pipe is around 2.6 metres deep at this point.”
“We cannot give a completion time for this work at this point or a time for when supplies will be restored. We believe it will certainly take the rest of today but we will update this site as the work progresses and we have more information about the timings.”
“We will continue to deliver bottled water to the Tesco’s car park as quickly as we can. We also have staff delivering bottled water to customers on our vulnerable list. Once again, we apologise for the inconvenience this emergency is causing and we stress that we are working hard to complete the repair and return supplies.”
4.15PM: Police are helping Bristol Water staff to distribute the bottled water to residents outside Tesco’s store in Burnham.
4PM: Water bottles are available outside Burnham’s Tesco store, though supplies have been limited and queues are growing.
3.30PM: Patients at Burnham Hospital have moved out of the building due to the lack of water supplies.
12PM: A burst water main is causing shortages of tap water across the Burnham area. Bristol Water spokesman Paul Kelson explained: “A burst has occurred on the 450mm trunk water main that supplies the Burnham, Highbridge and Berrow area. The burst occurred on the A38 Bridgwater Road, between the bridge over the M5 and the East Brent roundabout, earlier today.”
Our photo shows water spilling onto the road as crews from Bristol Water started their investigation.
