Gunnislake residents criticise South West Water on day four without reliable mains water

  • Watch Charlotte Gay's report

People around the Tamar Valley have been criticising South West Water as they face their fourth day with little or no water.

There has been a problem with the water supply for 1800 households in the villages surrounding Gunnislake with some residents saying they have been without water since Thursday January 20.

South West Water says it has restored supplies to the majority of customers in Gunnislake and Calstock but are continuing to face problems in the PL17 area of Harrowbarrow.

Beth Graber has MS and a five month old baby to care for. She is on the priority list for water bottle deliveries but said she has to rely on friends to bring supplies over.

Speaking about her son Noah she said, "I need to bath him, obviously wash his bottles for sterilisation, and laundry that piles up when you've got a baby."

She said she has been really frustrated by the lack of communication from the water company over the weekend.

Without running water several businesses including The Queen's Head Inn could not operate over the weekend. Credit: ITV News

In a statement issued Sunday evening (January 23) South West Water said staff have been working overnight to install a temporary water pump station at Callington "to improve flows and pressure in the system".

They say they are continuing to deliver bottled water "to vulnerable customers and to those customers requesting it" and thanked people for their "patience and understanding" as they work to "restore the remaining supplies as quickly as possible".

A collection point for bottled water had been set up at the Tamar Valley Donkey Park but soon ran dry.

Tony Wilson says the disruption has cost a lot for a rural village pub. Credit: ITV News

Businesses have also been affected with the shops running out of bottled water, and the local fish and chip shop unable to open without a running water supply.

The Queen's Head only managed to reopen on Sunday morning. Husband and wife Tony and Glynis Wilson said they think this weekend of disruption has cost them up to £2,500 in losses.

Tony said, "Yesterday, we had no water whatsoever, so we couldn't open the bar because of hygiene laws, we couldn't open the kitchen at all, so overall we probably lost £2-2,500 and that's an awful lot of money to be losing."

  • Customers can request bottled water by calling South West Water on 0344 346 2020