Copthorne burst water main: 'The majority of residents in the area should soon have their water supply back'

A burst water main in Copthorne which left hundreds of residents without water for two days is almost repaired and most residents should now have their water supply back.
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Residents including families with young children, in the new Heathy Wood estate had no water for 48 hours since the pipe burst at 3am on Tuesday (July 27)

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South East Water said the pipe needed 'extremely complex repairs' and needed a 'long and large excavation'.

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But in their latest update, South East Water are confident it's nearly repaired and apologised for the disruption the burst water main caused.

They said: "Our work to restore water supplies to customers in the area continues to make good progress with water very slowly being returned through the repaired pipe.

"It has to be a gradual process to avoid putting pressure on the pipework which can lead to other issues.

"This was an extremely complex fix due to the location of the damaged main in woodland and its depth – around 15 feet below ground. To stop the trench from caving in a support had to be built to make the area safe for our pipe repair technicians to work in.

The affected pipe in Copthorne needed complex repairs. Picture: South East WaterThe affected pipe in Copthorne needed complex repairs. Picture: South East Water
The affected pipe in Copthorne needed complex repairs. Picture: South East Water
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"The majority of residents in the area should soon have their water supply back but we are still asking customers to only use water for essential use until the morning when the system should be back to normal.

"Once again, we are really sorry for any disruption this burst water main has caused and would like to thank everyone for their patience while we carry out this vital work."

Before the latest update, resident Anita Shahdad said: "The whole subdivision has been without water for two days, we have families with kids.

"We get six bottles of water from the village hall if we go there. It’s absolutely ridiculous.

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"They are saying six o’clock tonight before it will be fixed and it keeps moving time. This has been since 3am Tuesday.

"We are having to go out to other people’s houses to take showers. We have got families here who can’t flush toilets."

Another resident has contacteed South East Water on twitter. Khadifa (@kovohra) tweeted: In Copthorne area and still no water 24 hours on and the updates give very little detail. I have a 9 month old and a 6 year old boy at home. When will this be resolved? The water comes and go and it’s getting tedious."

You can see the latest update at corporate.southeastwater.co.uk/copthorneburst

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