Water is returning for West Sussex residents this morning (Monday, May 15) after Southern Water customers experienced a loss of supply at the weekend – while some are still experiencing issues with their water supply.
Hundreds of Southern Water customers across Horsham and Chichester Districts were left with ‘no water’ following a ‘failure’ at one of the company’s supply works on Sunday, May 14.
Southern Water said the issue was caused by a failure at Hardham Water Supply Works.
Commenting on the water outage across much of Horsham and Chichester Districts, Andrew Griffith MP said: “Water is one of the few absolute essentials of life. Everyone understands that things can occasionally go wrong. But it is at times like these when the mark of a good organisation is excellent communications and a rapid response to fix things or to help those most impacted.
“We need our local Councils and Southern Water to step up and help households who have already been without even a basic water supply for 12 hours.”
How long will residents in parts of West Sussex be without water?
Southern Water first reported the issue on the company’s website at 1.37am on Sunday morning.
The company said ‘most homes in West Sussex’ had their water back on Monday morning, but confirmed residents in Turners Hill and the RH13 area ‘may still be without water’.
In a statement posted at 7.44am this morning, a Southern Water spokesperson said: “Most homes in #WestSussex should have their water back, but if you live in #TurnersHill or are in the #RH13 0 area, you may still be without water.
“We’re using tankers and doing everything we can to bring as many homes as possible back into supply: http://ow.ly/Tn6G50OnAYP
“We’re still delivering bottled water to our vulnerable customers, and bottled water stations will be open again today.
“If you start to see your water returning, here’s what you can expect
In a further statement, a spokesperson added: “Again, we’d like to apologise for the inconvenience this situation has caused over the weekend and thank our customers for their patience as we work to fix the issue and return water supply.”
Southern Water confirmed customers in Horsham, Billinghurst, Broadbridge Heath, Pulborough, Codmore Hill, West Chiltington, Wisborough Gree, Rudgwick, Loxwood, Barns Green, Slinfold experienced low water pressure, or had no water at all on Sunday.
The issue has persisted in both the Turners Hill and RH13 areas.
Meanwhile, schools in Slinfold, Barns Green, Pulborough, and across Crawley have closed today (May 15) due to water shortages.
Here is a list of schools that we can confirm are closed due to loss of water supply:
– St Mary’s CofE (Aided) Primary School, Pulborough
– Barns Green Primary School
– Slinfold CofE Primary School
The full list of Crawley schools closed can be found here.
Southern Water have opened bottled water stations at K2 in Crawley, and Horsham Park and Ride.
Southern Water will also be delivering bottled water to vulnerable customers who are unable to visit the bottled water station.
Bottled water stations are located at:
– K2, Crawley Leisure Centre, RH11 9BQ
– Horsham Park and Ride, Worthing Road, RH13 0AR