Highbury Quadrant

THAMES Water has been slammed for failing to properly repair its Victorian sewage systems after a burst pipe left an estate without water on one of the hottest weekends of the year.

Residents in Highbury Quadrant were forced to buy bottled water in order to drink, wash and flush their loos this weekend.

It is the latest outrage against the private water company that has announced a hosepipe ban starting next Thursday.

Jos Boys, an architect and Highbury Quadrant resident, said: “In the 1970s, when I studied architecture, we were already being told that all the water and sewage systems were very elderly Victorian systems that needed repair immediately. And here we are, nearly 50 years later, and that work clearly hasn’t been done.

“Instead, there’s this emphasis on shareholder value, where shareholders get as much money as they can, and the CEO of Thames Water gets paid £2million.

“So all these people have been soaking money out of the system for years and years, and now they’re finally beginning to look at investing in all those problems – but it’s already much too late.”

Residents have suggested the water outages are related to the floods in Hornsey and Benwell Road.

Jean Harris, a resident on the estate, said her access to water had been “all over the place” since last week, adding that water pressure was so low in her block that she had been showering at 5am to beat the rush.

Ms Harris said: “It’s the wrong time of year.

“I think something should have been done. When I rang [the council] on several occasions, I did warn them that there were several disabled and older people here, and I think they should send some water round – [that] didn’t happen.”

Diarmaid Mullan, another Highbury Quadrant resident, had a similar experience.

“Water has been off and on all of last week from Monday,” he said, adding that one of his neighbours had spent three hours on the phone trying to reach the council repairs team.

Highbury councillor Benali Hamdache, who helped get bottled water to residents, said: “This definitely shows why we need a nationalised water system – they waste a lot of water but they invest a lot of money in their shareholders and CEO, but that would be better invested in the pipes.”

An Islington Council spokesperson said: “Work continues in Islington, following the severe flooding caused by a Thames Water water main burst on the morning of Monday, 8 August.

“The council has continued to work with Thames Water to focus support for local residents and businesses in the aftermath of flooding that reached several feet high in the area around Hornsey Road.

“Thames Water turned off the external water supply which led to low pressure for this block. We provided residents with drinking water during the weekend and have been carrying out checks to ensure that the water is working again.

“Unfortunately the pressure changes can affect the water infrastructure in council blocks. On the water tank at Highbury Quadrant, a valve broke last week, causing the tank to overflow over the weekend.

“We have carried out work to repair this valve and will continue to monitor for any outstanding issues.

“We were disappointed to see further flooding on Benwell Road last weekend. Sadly, we have seen multiple issues in different locations over the summer. We are pressing Thames Water to do its utmost to ensure that these problems do not reoccur.”

A Thames Water spokesperson said: “We’re sorry to customers in the Highbury Quadrant who have no water or lower pressure than normal today due to a burst pipes on nearby Hornsey Road and Benwell Road. Our engineers have been on site over the last week to repair the burst water pipes.

“Getting water supplies back on is our top priority and while our experts work on this we’re identifying everyone in the affected area who has pre-registered with us as having special requirements, such as being medically reliant on water, so we can get in touch and make sure we give them the help and support they need.

“We know it’s not acceptable to be losing so much precious water but we’re doing something about it and our shareholders have recently approved an additional £2billion into the business so we can improve outcomes for customers, leakage and river health.”