Water leak sees taps run dry

RESIDENTS of Finchampstead and Barkham were without water yesterday morning after two water mains suffered from burst pipes.

A team from Thames Water were sent to fix the leaks, while tankers brought in extra water.

The company also made deliveries of bottled water to vulnerable customers.

One of the leaks was on Barkham Street and Wokingham Borough Council set up temporary traffic lights.

Another was on Barkham Ride, and the road was underwater.

A Thames Water spokesperson told Wokingham Today: “We’re sorry to customers in Finchampstead who were experiencing low pressure or no water. This is the result of two burst mains, following the recent cold weather.

“We’d like to reassure residents that we had two teams on the ground repairing the pipes. In addition, we had two tankers in the area bringing extra water into our network, reducing the impact to customers.

“We also delivered bottled water to vulnerable customers on our Priority Services Register.”

It is the second major leak this week. On Monday, South East Water closed one carriageway of Reading Road in Woosehill to undertake repairs to a burst main. This is expected to be complete today (Thursday).

It follows on from four days of problems in Reading.

On Saturday, January 20, there was a problem at the Pangbourne Water Treatment Works, which knocked out the supply to homes across the RG1, RG8, RG30 and RG31 areas. Many homes had either low pressure or no water.

The final homes were reconnected on Tuesday night as Thames Water fixed a leak on Wokingham Road.