Thames Water has admitted to unpreparedness in their response to a major water main break last October. The rupture took 16 hours to isolate, leading to severe flooding for residents of Paradise Park. The company’s head of North London water networks, Sean Walden, said two major errors occurred. First, Thames Water misidentified the water main break as a waste water flood. Second, a message sent to a flood response vehicle did not go through. The company has made Goodwill payments to affected residents, but some remain angry, in particular about the loss of parking after the flood damaged an area car park.

Key Takeaways:

• Thames Water has admitted that it was unprepared and not ready for the ability to support residents affected by the burst water main which caused flooding.
• There were several government agencies involved in the effort to help residents. Hackney council had fourteen different branches, along with firemen and the police participating.
• The burst water main which occurred in October 2018 took sixteen hours to isolate which delay caused severe flooding to residents of Paradise Park.

“Goodwill payments to all residents directly affected by the burst who responded to a letter from Thames have now been made, as the company continues to deal with residents’ separate insurance claims, but remain without parking after five months.”

Read more: https://www.hackneycitizen.co.uk/2019/03/06/thames-water-admits-lea-bridge-floods-were-too-much-for-it-to-handle/