HOSEPIPE BAN: Anglian Water criticised after water 'gushes into drains' from pipe in Market Deeping street
The hosepipe ban is less than a week old – but Anglian Water have faced criticism for a second time.
Restrictions were announced on Friday (July 10), banning residents from using hosepipes to carry out certain activities, such as washing cars, in a bid to save water following a hot, dry summer.
That very morning, an Anglian Water van was pictured driving into a Tesco car wash in Peterborough.
Now, with weather forecasts still not predicting any substantial rain in the region – a pipe, leaking running water out onto the street has been spotted in Market Deeping – and residents say it hasn’t been fixed for days.
On X, @stujchapman posted a video of the pipe, and said: “Explain to me again about the hose pipe ban?
“This has been "gushing" straight down the drain for days now.”
An Anglian Water spokesperson said: “We're sorry it's taking longer than expected to resolve the leak in Crowson Way in Market Deeping. We're working hard to make sure this is done as quickly as possible. During periods of hot weather, the high temperatures can cause ground movement that results in an increase of burst water mains or leaks.
"Our teams continue working hard through the hot weather to prioritise repairs that are having the greatest impact on customers' water supplies and those resulting in the highest water loss. We'd like to thank our customers for their patience while we respond to the challenges created by this period of exceptionally warm weather.”
Anglian Water said teams have been working around the clock to optimise the water network’s performance and keep everyone’s taps running during the prolonged warm weather. This includes work to increase the amount of water put into supply, as well as putting more boots on the ground to respond to higher volumes of burst water pipes and leakage, and is using innovative techniques like drones and AI to locate leaks.
Anyone caught breaching the hosepipe ban could face a £1,000 fine.
Customers can ask questions and find out more about how the ban will affect them on the Anglian Water website at www.anglianwater.co.uk/hosepipe.