UK braces for floods and water shortages as temperatures rise

UK braces for floods and water shortages as temperatures rise

About 12,000 homes in south-east England have no running water after deep freeze and thaw

Jamie Grierson

@JamieGrierson

Mon 5 Mar 2018 03.06 EST

Last modified on Mon 5 Mar 2018 07.58 EST

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Humberside fire and rescue officers check a flood-damaged car blown on to the banks of the Humber estuary flood defence wall at South Ferriby. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images
The repercussions of the extreme weather are being felt across the UK, with flood warnings and water shortages threatening thousands of households.
After last week’s snow, ice and freezing temperatures combined with the impact of Storm Emma, residents in London and south-east England have been told to use as little water as possible because of burst pipes.
Thames Water said about 12,000 homes had no running water following the deep freeze and thaw, while several other water companies said they were also tackling multiple burst pipes on their networks.
The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, criticised the water company for the failures. He said: “I am extremely concerned about the continued problems with the Thames Water supply, and it is unacceptable that thousands of Londoners remain without water.


“This is simply not good enough and I have sought assurances from Thames Water that they are doing everything possible to fix the problems and get the supply switched back on as soon as possible for everyone who has been affected. This cold weather should not have caused these problems for Thames Water.”
Four companies – Thames Water, South East Water, Southern Water and Affinity Water – urged customers who did have running water to only use it when essential.
“Where possible, take short showers rather than baths, do not leave taps running unnecessarily and only run washing machines and dishwashers when you have a full load. This will make a real difference,” they said in a joint statement.
Companies handed out bottled water to affected customers over the weekend, while one school in Streatham, south London, said it would not open on Monday because of a lack of water.

Meanwhile, a flood warning was in place in south-west England and there were 38 flood alerts across England and Wales on Monday morning.
Despite the thaw setting in across some parts of the country, on the rail network there were still warnings of disruption to Arriva Trains Wales, and cancellations on some Great Yarmouth to Norwich services run by Greater Anglia, and early morning Glasgow Central to London Euston services on Virgin Trains.
Temperatures rose above freezing over the weekend after the “beast from the east” and Storm Emma brought a deep cold snap last week, which included the first day of the meteorological spring.

Despite forecasts of a high of 11C (52F) in London on Monday, weather warnings for snow and ice were still in place for parts of northern England, Northern Ireland and Scotland. Met Éireann has yellow and orange alerts for snow and ice across much of Ireland until midday.


The Met Office forecaster Mark Wilson said of the UK: “There will be a noticeable change in the weather, it will be less cold and there will be less snow and ice. We are now going to see slightly less cold and milder weather. By Monday afternoon the temperature could be in double figures.
“There is a snow and ice warning for most of Scotland. Through the day the snow will be restricted to the higher ground.”
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