Hastings water situation latest: ‘Good progress’ made following repair of burst main; bottled water stations to open as ‘precaution;
Southern Water has state that ‘good progress’ has been made following the repair of a burst main and that bottled water stations are to open as a ‘precaution’
A Southern Water spokesperson said: “Water is flowing along the repaired water main north of Hastings which suffered a burst yesterday (December 23).
"A new section of pipe was successfully fitted this morning, and we're gradually restoring water to the network.
“Although the possibility of interruptions to supply can’t yet be ruled out, it’s looking less likely.
"The current forecast means risk to customers supply has been pushed back from this evening to tomorrow morning. If customers do experience issues with their water supply in the morning, this will likely be for a short period of time.
“Water supply levels have remained slightly higher thanks to our customers in Hastings taking no more water than usual and the work our operators have carried out to move water around the network.
“We’re also restarting Beauport Water Supply Works so it can resume producing clean, safe drinking water.
"To safeguard the highest standards of water quality, the site will shut down if strict conditions are not met – so the process takes several hours. We expect this to be complete between 18:00 and midnight. Once running again the site feeds local reservoirs which then distribute to customers.
“Although the incident is being resolved and the threat of interruptions has greatly reduced, as a precaution we continue to deliver bottled water to our vulnerable customers.
“Similarly for our customers’ peace of mind we’ll be opening several bottled water stations this afternoon and into the evening. We will share the opening times and locations of these as they are confirmed.
“Since the forecast time for any supply outage has receded into tomorrow, there is less cause for concern among businesses, especially those in the hospitality and night-time economy this evening. However, if businesses remain concerned, they are welcome to call at our bottled water stations to collect water.
“As a precaution, we have also made preparations to re-open bottled water stations on Christmas Day if needed.”