Flooding chaos after burst mains
Drivers faced with diversions after roads left submerged as engineers battle to fix fault
HUNDREDS were left without water after a mains burst, causing traffic chaos with three feet of water on some roads.
The water submerged an M8 sliproad ahead of rush hour yesterday and a van with two US families had to be rescued by firefighters.
Scottish Water engineers worked into the night to restore supplies.
HUNDREDS of homes across Glasgow were left without water after a mains burst.
Engineers worked into the night last night to repair the fault which caused flooding at a busy road junction.
Scottish Water were alerted to the burst at around 6.20am yesterday but were unable to prevent water from submerging an M8 slip road ahead of rush hour.
Traffic came to a standstill as motorists contended with three feet of rising water.
A van carrying two American families had to be rescued by firefighters after becoming stuck on Phoenix Road.
Angel Pillow, a tourist from Washington DC, was travelling with her husband, daughter and another family of three at the time.
The 47-year-old said: “We were following a double decker bus through a water main break so our van could get through and our van froze up midway and got stuck.
“By that point the water was coming i n through the side doors and the backdoor and our luggage got wet.
“When the firefighters arrived they took us out through the windows and side doors on a raft.
“We were a little panicked, we’re in a foreign country, we don’t understand how Glasgow’s fire and rescue work here, it’s very different to in the states.
“At first when we called they were telling us we didn’t need police, fire or rescue because nobody’s in a medical emergency.
“We had to tell them it could turn into a medical emergency so they better send someone down.”
Firefighters managed to salvage luggage from the rear of the van.
The family were taken to a local hotel paid for by Scottish Water.
A section of Garscube Road, from its junction with Possil Park to the traffic lights at the slip road for the M8 eastbound, remained closed in both directions throughout yesterday and into this morning.
Homes in G20 area of the city, which takes in Port Dundas, Cowcaddens, Firhill, Sighthill and Maryhill, bore the brunt of the problems while residents in Springburn and Dennistoun also reported changes to their water supply.
Residents reported experiencing a loss of normal water, low pressure and discoloured water following the incident.
Engineers focused on restoring supplies and managed to significantly reduce the number of properties affected by re-zoning the network and bringing in water from adjacent parts of the system.
A spokeswoman for Scottish Water said: “Customers in parts of Glasgow experienced disruption to their normal water supply and while normal supply has resumed for most customers, we are continuing to carry out work on the network to restore supplies fully.
“Road traffic management is in place to allow us to carry out the repair work as quickly and as safely as possible.
“Scottish Water has liaised with Glasgow City Council’s roads department when planning the necessary road traffic management.
“Drivers are asked to follow diversions in place.
“The affected section of road will be reopened as soon as the work is completed and the road reinstated. Scottish Water will be working through the night to complete the repair over the next 24 hours.”
Four years ago, thousands of people in Glasgow were affected after nine water mains burst across Glasgow in a day of flooding and disruption.
Torrents of fast-moving water gushed through the city centre, flooding streets and walkways.
Burst mains in the north, South Side and East End of the city also shut roads causing travel chaos and leaving thousands of people without water.
Bosses at Scottish Water were inundated with calls from more than 3000 concerned residents.
The problem was blamed on the central system for regulating water pressure malfunctioning.
A surge damaged valves, breaking pipes and sending water cascading onto streets.
One of the worst affected streets was Cowcaddens Road and around 600 students from Glasgow Kelvin College had to be evacuated.
The water was coming in through the side doors and the backdoor