LONDON'S water supply is in chaos as thousands of Brits have been hit with a shortage, forcing schools to close.
Thames Water has said that a number of homes in west and southwest London have been left with low pressure or without water.
The firm said the issue had been caused by a huge power supply problem at Ashford Water Treatment Works and Supplies but has since confirmed that that issue is resolved.
However, the issues are likely to persist for some time longer, Thames Water added.
Several schools have already confirmed they will be closing, including the Sheen Mount Primary School in West London.
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By Henry Moore
Schools forced to close amid outage
One school has taken to X to confirm it had “no option” but to close this morning amid a water outage in London.
St Richard Reynolds in West London wrote to parents: “Due to water issues, the college site has no option but to close from 10:30am today.
“Parents/Carers please look out for communication from the college for further details.”
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By Henry Moore
Power supply restored at water treatment plant
A statement from Thames Water said: "The power supply is now back on at Ashford Water Treatment Works and supplies should be starting to return across the area.
"The issue also had a knock-on effect at Hampton Water Treatment Works, meaning a large number of customers have been affected. We’re really sorry for the worry and inconvenience this will have caused.
"We’re working hard to get things back to normal as soon as possible, but it’s likely to take some time for the supply system to refill and for water to fully return to the whole area."
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By Henry Moore
Customers call for refunds amid water outage
Come Thames Water customers have taken to social media to demand refunds amid today's outage.
One angry Londoner wrote: "Will Thames Water be reimbursing all the parents who now have to take the day off from work to pick up their kids from school…..oh wait."
While another said: "With this many households, schools, hospitals, and businesses affected, zero updates in the last hour is not acceptable."
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By Henry Moore
What caused today's outage?
Thames Water said the problem had been caused by a huge power supply problem affecting Ashford and Hampton water treatment works in west London.
It's seen thousands of parents and children who have just returned from the summer holidays start the morning with little to no water.
Local schools have now been forced to close their doors after the supply chaos hit over 30 postcodes in the capital.
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By Henry Moore
Areas where the issues have been resolved
The following areas should now have access to water, according to Thames Water:
- CR4
- E5
- E8
- EC1V
- KT1
- KT2
- KT3
- KT8
- HA0
- N1
- N15
- N16
- N17
- NW1
- NW2
- NW10
- SE1
- SE11
- SE16
- SE17
- UB1
- UB2
- UB6.
Issues began around 7am
Locals in affected areas have reported not having a water supply since 7am and blasted Thames Water for not having an adequate back-up system.
This has led several schools to close their doors for the day.
St Richards Reynolds College in West London is shutting its doors from 10.30am because of the ongoing "water issues".
And Kenyngton Manor Primary School was also reported to have closed thanks to the supply problems.
People 'panic buying water'
One X user has reported scenes of panic buying as much of West London is without running water.
The user, responding to Thames Water, said: "People are also panic buying water from the supermarkets. I am heavily pregnant and with a two-year-old. We have no water at all."
Another fuming Londoner added: "Surely there should be resilient back-up to prevent such issues? This is a critical service."
Issued resolved in a number of areas, Thames Water claims
The issues with London's water supply have been resolved in several postcodes, according to Thames Water's status checker.
The current list of areas facing problems is: SW4, SW8, SW9, SW13, SW14, SW15, SW18, SW19, TW1, TW2, TW3, TW4, TW5, TW7, TW8, TW9, TW10, TW11, TW12, TW13, TW14, TW17, W1H, W1H, W1M, W1N, W2, W3, W4, W6, W7, W10, W12, W13, W14
Who owns Thames Water?
Thames Water is currently privately owned by a consortium of pension funds and sovereign wealth funds.
A sovereign wealth fund is a state-owned investment fund made up of money generated by Government.
However, if the water company does indeed collapse, the Government may be forced to step in and nationalise it.
This would mean the company is wholly owned by the Government instead of founders, managers or investors.
Generally, the idea with nationalising a company is that all profits made go back into the company rather than being distributed between shareholders.
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By Henry Moore
MP confirms school closures
Twickenham's MP, Munira Wilson, confirmed some schools in her area have been forced to remain closed over the issue and urged Thames Water to "sort this soon".
Some have already initiated remote learning with the power problems forcing head teachers to decide that buildings will not open today.
Sheen Mount Primary School in West London is one school which has been confirmed to have closed.
Vineyard School in Richmond was among schools telling parents to collect their children.
And Kensington Manor Primary School was also reported to have closed thanks to the power supply issues.
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By Henry Moore
More from Thames Water
In a message to customers this morning Thames Water said:"We’re really sorry if you have low pressure or no water. It’s been caused by a power supply problem which has affected our Ashford and Hampton water treatment works in west London.
"We’re working hard to fix the issue and to get things back to normal.
"We’ll provide further updates here as soon as we have more information."
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By Henry Moore
Customers facing 'no water or low pressure'
Britain's biggest water supplier, Thames Water, said on Wednesday that "some customers have no water or low pressure" in parts of West London following a power supply issue.
"Were sorry for the disruption and we are working hard to fix the issue," Thames Water said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
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By Henry Moore
School has 'no option but to close'
One school has taken to X to confirm it had "no option" but to close this morning amid a water outage in London.
St Richard Reynolds in West London wrote to parents: "Due to water issues, the college site has no option but to close from 10:30am today.
"Parents/Carers please look out for communication from the college for further details."
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By Henry Moore
Thames Water 'working hard' to fix issues
Thames Water this morning: "We're working hard to fix the issue and to get things back to normal.
"We'll provide further updates here as soon as we have more information."
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By Henry Moore
Which areas are affected?
The following postcodes are affected: CR4, E5, E8, EC1V, KT1, KT2, KT3, KT8, HA0, N1, N15, N16, N17, NW1, NW2, NW10, SE1, SE11, SE16, SE17, SW4, SW8, SW9, SW13, SW14, SW15, SW18, SW19, TW4, TW5, TW7, TW8, TW10, TW11, TW12, TW14, TW17, UB1, UB2, UB6, W1H, W1H, W1M, W1N, W2, W3, W4, W6, W7, W10, W12, W13, W14.
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By Henry Moore
Thousands hit by water shortage with schools shut
Thousands of Brits have been hit by a mass water shortage with schools forced to shut.
Thames Water have said that a number of homes in west and southwest London have been left with low pressure or without water.
The firm said the problem had been caused by a huge power supply problem.
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