Water supplies returning to normal

Throughout the day, South East Water has been refilling its network, a task which needs to be done slowly to prevent further problems.

The company is aware some customers on higher ground in Haywards Heath may still be experiencing problems and have low pressure.

A bottled water collection point has been set up. It is located at Franklands Village Hall, Haywards Heath, RH16 3RS.

Douglas Whitfield, incident manager at South East Water, said, “We know it has been very difficult for customers who have been without water, especially those whose supplies were interrupted for a long period of time.

“We’d like to thank our customers for their patience and understanding during this emergency and also thank those who helped their neighbours by collecting water for them.

“As supplies return customers might have white or cloudy water. This is air in the system and is normal after a supply interruption and should settle quickly. Any customers who have discoloured water should not use domestic appliances but run their kitchen tap until it clears.”

South East Water worked through the night to repair water main which caused supply problems in Ditchling, Plumpton, Hassocks, Barcombe some parts of Haywards Heath and the surrounding areas. The repair to the 15 inch diameter pipe was completed on Sunday morning.

Douglas said, “Bottled water collection stations will remain in place until we are sure all supplies have returned to normal.

“We also delivered bottled water to our vulnerable customers who had already registered with us and those who contacted us with additional needs. Special arrangements were also made to deliver water to the Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath.

“Our priority is always to get tap water supplies back on as soon as possible and we would like to apologise to customers for the inconvenience this incident has caused. As always after an incident, we will review our procedures and make sure we can improve our service when emergencies happen in the future.”

The bottled water collection stations are at: West Street, Ditchling, East Sussex, BN6 8TS, 250 metres towards Hassocks on the right hand side. Also bottled water is available at the Post Office in Station Road, Plumpton Green BN7 3BS.

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