Thames Water was accused of responding slowly and ineffectively to a 30 million litre water pipe burst in Clapton the night of Tuesday, October 3rd that flooded local businesses and submerged cars in up to five feet of water.
“I first noticed it [the flooding] at 10.30pm during my evening shift when the street began to rupture” said Alice Chubb, who works at the Princess of Wales pub on Lea Bridge Rd.
“Thames Water were very late to respond. Thames Water turned up with a really small van, we were kind of laughing. By the morning water had got to such a height…there were some businesses down the road which were destroyed.”
A week after the flood, local businesses are still suffering a loss of income. Happitime Playgroup on Lea Bridge Road, a parent-led playgroup that runs every morning, was forced to temporarily close and Archi Express has had to send staff home.
“It has been bad, very, very bad” said Stella Olasanoye, who leads the Playgroup.
Stella thinks “Thames Water are trying their best,” but adds that “they didn’t deal with it early. When I got here at 7.30 on Wednesday morning the water was coming in and everybody from Thames Water was just watching.”
“The leak was reported late on Tuesday night…and Thames Water engineers arrived on site shortly after. Abby Turner, the media relations officer for Thames Water told the Hackney Post. “Our customer representatives are on site every day to provide support.”
As of Tuesday 8th October, Thames Water had announced water and electrical supplies have been restored to local buildings and free bottled water has been made available. The repairs are scheduled to be completed next week.
