Overview
- A large water main in West Molesey blew early on Monday, spewing an estimated 750 litres per second and cutting supply to thousands of homes across south-west London and parts of Surrey.
- Engineers located and isolated the damaged pipe and have rerouted flows, so many customers have had water restored though low pressure and intermittent supply may continue during peak use.
- Thames Water set up bottled-water stations, deployed tankers and is delivering to customers on its Priority Services Register while crews remain on site working toward a permanent repair.
- The firm’s initial estimate that as many as 15,000 properties were affected was revised down during the day to roughly 6,000 and later to lower local figures as restoration progressed.
- The incident has prompted renewed political scrutiny of Thames Water’s ageing network, high leakage levels and heavy debt, with MPs and campaigners calling for urgent investigation and clearer plans to fix the infrastructure.