Southern Water latest: here’s what you need to know as supply returns across some parts of West Sussex

Hundreds of customers across the Horsham and Chichester Districts were left with no water on Sunday, May 14, and Southern Water said this issue was caused by a failure at Hardham Water Supply Works.

Southern Water’s latest update on its website at 9pm on Sunday said: “We are confident that water supply will return overnight for all customers in West Sussex except those in Turners Hill (postcode areas RH10 1, RH10 3, RH10 4, RH10 6, RH10 7, RH10 8, RH10 9, RH11 7) who may not have water until mid morning.

“We’re looking to minimise the impact in the Turners Hill area by injecting water straight into the network. We’re also working with local partners to identify options for more local water delivery and bottled water stations – please see our website for further information tomorrow. We know that GCSEs start in the morning and we have a plan to ensure that the secondary school in the area has a direct water supply and experiences no disruption.”

People are reporting that water has returned in Storrington, but some customers on Twitter are saying that they still do not have water in Three Bridges, Billingshurst and Barns Green.

As the water returns Southern Water has issued a guide to what you can expect:

Discoloured water from your taps is normal after a supply interruption and is usually temporary. A spokesperson said: “If the water is cloudy and white, try leaving it in a glass for a few minutes to see if it clears, this will be air trapped in the water as the pipes refilled.”

Chlorine smell or taste is normal and comes from small amounts of chlorine that remain in the supply, which are known as ‘chlorine residual’.

People whose water has a brown or black colour are advised to run their taps for a few minutes to clear it. If this does not work, they are advised to turn their taps off, wait 20 minutes and try again. A spokesperson said: “It’s fine to use your water as normal when your water runs clear.”

They continued: “Sometimes after a network has been emptied air locks can occur either in our pipes or customers’ – running taps for a short while can help bring water through. It’s not unusual to see an increased number of external leaks after an incident like this, so if you should see something, please let us know - Report a leak in a public place (southernwater.co.uk).”