Households and businesses across large parts of east London and into Essex are facing a second night of disrupted water supplies after a major water main burst on Chigwell Road in South Woodford on Sunday morning, Thames Water has said.
Extent of the disruption
Thames Water reported that the initial failure on Chigwell Road was followed by damage to a further pipe on Daisy Lane. The company said customers across the following postcode areas were affected by reduced pressure or no running water: E4, E18, IG2, IG4, IG5, IG6, IG7, IG8, IG9 and RM4. Thames Water did not provide a figure for the number of properties impacted.
Engineers remained on site carrying out emergency repair work overnight in an effort to restore supplies to the network, the utility said, and apologised for the disruption.
Relief centres and local disruption
A temporary bottled water distribution point was established at Fairlop Ice Kingdom, Fairlop Road, Ilford, but organisers closed the site at 20:00 BST on Monday for health and safety reasons. The distribution point is scheduled to reopen at 09:00 on Tuesday. The Fairlop facility replaced an earlier collection point at the Tesco Superstore on Southend Road, which closed on Monday afternoon.
Local residents reported significant traffic congestion around the earlier collection centre. One resident, Sham Ashraf, told BBC News the area around the supermarket had become gridlocked, with shoppers left idling in their cars rather than queuing on foot.
"Roads are choc-a-block around the Charlie Brown Roundabout on Southend Road. Thames Water have told people to stay in their cars at the supermarket and they would take the water to the car, but it's now absolutely gridlocked."
Practical information for affected residents
Residents in the named postcodes should note:
- Check Thames Water's service updates online or via their customer helpline for progress on repairs and any further temporary distribution points.
- The Fairlop bottled water distribution point is due to reopen at 09:00 BST on Tuesday.
- Where safe supply is restored, households should run cold taps for several minutes and flush toilets and appliances before normal use — follow any advice issued by Thames Water or local authorities.
At the time of reporting Thames Water had not released an estimate of how long repairs will take to fully restore the affected network. The company apologised to customers and said its engineers were working through the night.
Local impact and responses
The burst has highlighted the vulnerability of ageing underground infrastructure and the knock-on effects on traffic and local services when emergency distribution points are established. The closure of the Tesco collection point after it became congested shows the difficulty of balancing safe distribution with local traffic flow.
| What happened | Immediate effect |
|---|---|
| Large water main burst on Chigwell Road | Low or no water pressure across multiple postcode areas |
| Subsequent pipe damage on Daisy Lane | Extended disruption; engineers working overnight |
| Bottled water distribution points opened/closed | Fairlop site closed 20:00 Mon; due to reopen 09:00 Tue |
Residents spoken to near the affected distribution points said the queues and stationary traffic were creating additional stress for households already grappling with limited water. One local councillor, contacted earlier, said they were monitoring the situation and urged calm while engineers worked to repair the damage. Thames Water has not provided a timeline for a full return to normal pressure across the network.
WE NEWS will continue to monitor updates from Thames Water and the local authorities as repairs proceed. Anyone with urgent concerns about supplies should contact Thames Water or their local council for advice.
