£50 payout for customers left without water over Christmas
PEOPLE who were left without water over the Christmas period in Aberdare have been offered a £50 goodwill payment from Welsh Water.
It comes after the company, together with Rhondda Cynon Taf council, worked to repair an “issue” with the water network in the CF44 town centre area on December 20.
It meant the affected areas including Monk Street, Dean Street, Gloucester Street and Duke Street had no running water, and it caused Caradog Primary School to close.
Aberdare Library closed to the public, and Monk Street and the Maerdy Mountain Road closed that evening before opening the next morning.
On December 21, a spokesman for Welsh Water said: “Following work on a number of bursts in the Aberdare area, the Maerdy Mountain Road in now fully open to traffic. Thank you to everyone for your patience and understanding while we completed this essential work.”
In Cardiff, a burst water main left homes and businesses across the city without water from about 6.30am on Boxing Day.
It affected homes and businesses in the Llanrumney, Rumney, Cyncoed, Pentwyn, Llanedeyrn and Penylan areas of the city.
Last week, a Welsh Water spokesman said: “We offered goodwill gesture payments to customers in Aberdare and the Rumney and Llanrumney areas of Cardiff, whose water supply was disrupted for significant periods in the run up to Christmas and on Boxing Day.
“We have analysed data of areas and properties affected and have written to customers we found to be eligible for payment to arrange for these to be made.”
A letter by Welsh Water managing director Peter Perry said: “We know how disruptive it can be to lose your water supply, even for a short period of time, so to be without it for the length of time you were must have been difficult.
“As you might be aware, we had a burst on a trunk water main in Ridgeway Road playing-fields in Rumney. The burst left the ground completely waterlogged – in fact, it resembled a lake!
“We had to remove all this water before we could access the water main. Despite some terrible weather, we managed to replace the water main and restore water supplies by late evening.”
Mr Perry said the repair took longer than he would have liked, but safety during the challenging conditions was their priority.
He apologised for the inconvenience and thanked residents for their patience and understanding.
Several residents on Twitter responded to the statement by thanking the Welsh Water engineers.
At 9pm on Tuesday, Welsh Water said engineers had repaired the burst Cardiff water main and were starting to refill the system.