Water back for some but schools closed after burst

Water supplies have been restored for some properties across west Devon following a burst main, South West Water (SWW) has said.

At 07:30 BST on Wednesday the water company said its customers should be back in supply but some schools, businesses and residents said their water had still not been restored.

Thousands of properties in Plymouth, Bere Alston, Yelverton, and Tavistock lost supplies following a burst water main on Sunday.

SWW said the 13,000 households who lost water would receive payouts, expected to be £250, but Devon MP Fred Thomas has called for an additional £50 for all affected to "compensate for the company's poor communication during the outage".

A spokesperson for SWW said: "We are pleased to say that customers should now be back in supply.

"We want to apologise again for the inconvenience this has caused, but we would also like to thank all of our customers for their patience and kindness to our teams on the ground providing bottled water."

Whitchurch Community Primary School said it had taken the decision to close for the second day in a row as it was experiencing "water issues".

On social media, the school said: "I apologise in advance for any disruption caused.

"I hope you all manage to access some water today and hopefully see everyone back at school tomorrow."

Devon County Council also confirmed Bickleigh Down Church Of England Primary School, in Plymouth, was closed on Wednesday due to the lack of water.

Horrabridge Primary School, which was closed due to having no water on Tuesday, said it still did not have supplies on Wednesday but would be opening to its students.

The head teacher said SWW was providing the school with 12 portable toilets.

Bere Alston Primary Academy said it had to send pupils home on Wednesday morning due to having no water.

The school said it had water supplies when it checked at about 07:00 but by 09:30 it had gone again.

It said the school had attempted to contact SWW, but had been unable to speak to the company. SWW has been contacted for more information.

The Nuffield Health Devonshire leisure centre in Derriford, Plymouth, said it remained closed due to the water issues, as well as Plymouth Marjon University, including the Marjon Sport and Health Centre.

SWW said its water network was "back in operation" on Wednesday morning but it could take time for water to return.

It said: "It can take time for water to flow throughout the network due to topography and increasing demand, but we are monitoring our systems carefully and can confirm water is flowing throughout the network."

Customers still experiencing ongoing problems as isolated issues were likely to be affected by an air lock, SWW said, and those affected should contact them.

Four bottled water stations will remain open until 22:00 on Wednesday, and staff will continue to make deliveries to its priority service customers.

The stations are located at The George Park and Ride, Bere Alston Bowling Club, Knightstone Tearooms in Yelverton and Morrisons in Tavistock.

Fred Thomas MP said he had sent a letter to South West Water boss Susan Davy demanding improved compensation packages, including an additional £50 for "poor communication".

In the letter, Thomas wrote: "I am demanding an additional £50 per household to compensate for the additional stress to customers caused by miscommunication from South West Water."

The Plymouth Moor View MP said he also wanted details of the application process for business compensation to be "shared urgently".

He said: "I would also like to understand how those who are self-employed and have experienced a loss of earnings as a result of this disruption are able to claim compensation."

Thomas said residents were "furious" and could not understand why SWW had communicated "so poorly".

SWW said: "Recognising the impact on customers and communities, we will credit impacted customers as set out in our revised Customer Promise for 2025, guaranteeing a £50 payment per 12 hours without service, and £50 for each subsequent 12-hour period.

"This is over and above the current statutory amounts of £20 per 12 hours, and £10 per subsequent 24-hour period. The total payment to household customers is expected to be £250.

"Business customers will receive a £100 payment per 12 hours and £100 for each subsequent 12-hour period, again over and above the current statutory payments of £50 per 12 hours and £25 for each subsequent 12-hour period."

The company said as water came back into service, it was normal to expect discolouration, which should clear after running the cold kitchen tap.

"It is also common for air to become trapped in the supply, or within the internal plumbing," SWW said.

A Tavistock resident said they contacted SWW at about 10:45 on Wednesday as they, along with neighbours, still had no water.

They said the company should not have made the announcement about the water returning until everyone was "actually back in supply".

"I was told very politely that there might be an air lock in our pipes which is not the case, as I'd had the tap open all morning and nothing had come through except a very few drips," said the resident.

"Or it could just be high demand from elsewhere in the network, with customers having showers and doing their washing."

She said it had been about 54 hours since the leak happened, and at about 14:00 there was a "trickle" of water but the water supply was still not working fully."

David Harris, managing director of water services, said SWW had "full flow across the entire network".

He said: "However, obviously, the network is a very long network, and it's partly in a rural setting, so we will likely have blocks in parts of that system.

"Air locks are a usual consequence from a large network like this draining, so we know that is going to happen."

Mr Harris urged people experiencing issues to contact the utility company and added there were staff out on the ground "who will come and fix that problem for you."

He said his team had worked "around the clock" and had "responded as best we could to this unplanned event."

Mr Harris said: "I think we have incorporated a number of lessons that we've learnt from before. No doubt there will be lessons for us this time as well, and we will improve as we go along."

"Obviously this was an unplanned outburst, but, nonetheless, we do want to apologise to our customers for the large inconvenience that this has caused them," he added.

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