Residents in Surrey still experiencing water supply issues after major fault

People living in parts of Surrey are still experiencing water supply issues following a major fault at a water company’s treatment works on Monday.

Thousands of residents in Sutton, Morden and Epsom are understood to have experienced a loss of water or low pressure since the issue started.

No alternative plan has been put in place by Sutton and East Surrey (SES) Water for the areas of Cheam and Sutton, while in Epsom, two bottled water stations have been set up.

Luke Taylor, Liberal Democrat MP for Sutton and Cheam, said on X, formerly Twitter, on Monday evening that SES Water has confirmed they will set up another bottle station at Nonsuch Park in Sutton.

SES Water said in a statement on Tuesday that they have “an aim to open an additional station today”.

Teresa, 61, who lives in Cheam, said she was currently “living in squalor” after her water supply turned off at 4pm on Monday, leaving her unable to have a shower or flush her toilet.

She said: “I live in a sheltered housing scheme with about 400 flats, (there are) a lot of disabled, older residents.

“SES Water have no idea when this will be fixed, (it) just says it’s a valve fault.

“They have set up water pick-ups in Epsom, Ewell and Carshalton, but I don’t drive, my neighbours don’t drive.

“SES have made two water drop-offs to our scheme, one was middle of the night (and) 300 bottles (were) all taken, and another lot today, again all taken.

“We’re literally living in squalor, as you can imagine, unable to wash or flush a toilet.

“I’m using wet wipes to wash with, (I) can’t really cook as (there’s) not enough bottled water to cook with and (I) can’t wash up. It’s a nightmare.”

The water stations in Epsom have been set up in a community centre and a car park, which opened on Monday night and have been running since.

Mr Taylor said SES Water is working closely with St Helier Hospital in Sutton to support their water requirements.

St Helier Hospital has been approached for comment.

SES Water provides 160 million litres of water to some 750,000 people each day to areas in Surrey, Kent and south London, according to the company’s website.

“Unfortunately, our reserve levels as part of this response were not able to maintain the supply and demand meaning a number of customers within Sutton, Morden and Epsom experienced no water supply,” it said in a statement.

SES Water has said customers “may experience low pressure and no supply in some areas throughout today”.

“We sincerely apologise to all customers who are impacted by this disruption. Please rest assured that this is our absolute priority to restore supplies to these areas as fast as possible,” it added.

A Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs spokesman said: “We are aware of the water supply issues in Sutton, Epsom and Morden.

“We are in close contact with SES Water to ensure that the company is taking urgent steps to support residents and resolve the issue as soon as possible.

“The Government is introducing reforms to double the compensation water companies provide to customers for supply issues like these.”

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