We’ve received a disappointing update from Thames Water regarding their ongoing works on Eglinton Hill.
Thames Water have apologised to us and residents for the ongoing disruption and inconvenience caused to Eglinton Hill and the surrounding area, as well as for their lack of communication and updates on the programme of repairs.
We have, in the strongest terms, expressed our dissatisfaction with Thames Water, and are seeking assurances that they will properly manage future preventative and responsive works right across the area.
What’s happened
While the closure order was initially due to expire today (Tuesday 20 January), Thames Water have advised that their clean water team were due to hand over to their wastewater team to address consequential damage to the sewer system.
Due to the cold weather, concrete curing time meant these works were extended for longer than anticipated, meaning the wastewater works to clear the blocked private drain were unable to commence.
The handover from Thames Water’s clean water team to their wastewater team was due to happen tomorrow. Unfortunately, the water main has burst again meaning the clean water team will be required to repair this before the wastewater team can commence their works due to the risk of cross-contamination.
Engineers from Thames Water are now on-site to further investigate the clean water issues. The situation is rapidly developing and we are seeking further updates as and when Thames Water have them.
The wastewater team’s subsequent sewer repairs will be complex, including a 4m excavation conducted by hand due to the proximity of a live gas main. As such, both Thames Water and Southern Gas Networks are required on site to oversee these works.
We’ve been advised that the sewer repairs are expected to take around two weeks to complete. However, this is subject to potential delays as concrete can take longer to dry when the weather is colder.
The ongoing works are classified as emergency repairs. This means that the council has a legal obligation to facilitate them and has extended the works hours to between 7am and 7pm every day to ensure this can be resolved as quickly as possible.
Despite this, we’re sorry to residents and the wider public for the disruption Thames Water’s works have caused.
What we’re doing
The council have been on site to clear gullies on the roads following reports of the latest leak. As a result, water from this leak has been restricted to the highway on Eglinton Hill with surrounding roads unimpacted.
We know how frustrating this developing situation has been for residents. Because of this, we’ve raised our serious concerns with Thames Water over their insufficient communication and lack of robust works planning at this location.
Additionally, due to the persistent issues with Thames Water’s communications and planning throughout this period, we’ve also requested more comprehensive information about their progress on fixing these issues.
You can keep up to date with how the situation is developing via the Service Updates banner on the Thames Water website over the coming days.
We’re continuing to work with TfL to ensure that the appropriate arrangements can be made for suitable diversions to the 244 bus, so that residents can continue to travel across the borough. These arrangements include additional tree pruning and traffic management to allow for TfL to test a diversionary bus route. In meetings with TfL, we have also requested additional bus services and, as always, we remain committed to taking every step to enable effective route diversions to help bus users get around.
We’d like to apologise once again for the continued disruption to the area, and will keep residents and the wider community informed of further developments on how this issue progresses.