Thirteen thousand homes near Southampton still without water 2 days since Storm Ciarán hit the south

A map showing the outages in Southampton Credit: Southern Water/PA

Southern Water customers near Southampton are still without supplies two days since Storm Ciarán hit the south coast.

Around 13,000 homes are still affected.

However 5,300 households in Hythe, Blackfield, Dibden Purlieu, Fawley and Holbury should have have seen their water supply returned this morning.

Bottled water is being offered to residents today.

Southern Water told us “We’re currently dealing with a significant incident at our Testwood Water Supply Works.  

Regrettably, Storm Ciarán has caused an unprecedented impact on the water quality and levels of the River Test, where we take water from to turn into drinking water.

It has meant our site temporarily shut down and as a result we are struggling to fill reservoirs and supply enough water to areas in the Waterside, New Forest areas (postcodes SO40 and SO45).  

 Our teams have been working 24/7 and we are in recovery position. However, with further adverse weather we continue to monitor the situation.

Overnight our first phase progressed well and we were able to introduce around 5,300 homes back into service. 

Up to 13,000 homes still have a disruption to service. This must be done carefully and slowly to prevent bursts, airlocks and discoloured water and takes at least 24 hours to get back to normal.

The expected rainfall today may also exacerbate the issues on site.  

For those disrupted we have four bottled water stations that have been open since 8am this morning.   

  • Staplewood Football Ground, SO40 4WR   

  • Applemore Leisure Centre, SO45 5TN   

  • Gangwarily Leisure Centre, S045 1GA  

  • Jones Lane car park, S045 6DU (New location)  

 We are delivering bottled water to our priority services customers.   

Storm overflow releases were seen across the county during the storm as the region battled the damage caused by flooding and high winds.

The threat of flooding remains high across the south of England as the country continues to feel the after effects of the severe weather.

Car driving through a flooded road in Yapton, West Sussex Credit: PA

Southern Water said its teams are working to get the Testwood site back working as soon as possible as stormwater levels fall and water quality improves.

Anyone concerned or vulnerable with an urgent need of bottle water is asked to call Southern Water on 0330 303 0368.

Met Office weather forecasters a weather warning for frequent heavy showers, along with gusty winds, is likely to cause travel disruption and flooding for a few places, will come into force across London and South East England on Saturday from 3pm to 11.59pm.

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