Wirral water supplies update: Friday May 28 (10am)

28 May 2010

Repairs to a faulty 36" water valve continue on the Wirral this morning (Friday May 28).

Overnight, engineers working for United Utilities have successfully isolated a mile and a half of pipe either side of the valve, and safely emptied the 1.4 million litres it contained into Fender Brook, near Prenton.

Repairs to the valve itself are already under way. Initial findings indicate that a broken spindle caused the valve to fault in the closed position. Specialist teams are expected to be able to rectify the problem within a few hours, but it will still be two days before the water mains network is completely back to normal because of the complexities of re-commissioning the pipe.  

In the meantime, customers are being kept on water by re-routing water supplies along different pipes, using tankers to pump extra water into mains and service reservoirs, and a booster pump to increase water pressure for some customers at times of peak demand.

Scott Beard, Regional Water Network Manager, said: "We have done a lot of planning for this delicate operation and I'm pleased to say that it is going to schedule.

"It is a huge and complex operation and we are monitoring water supplies very closely as we continue the complex process of repairing the valve and re-commissioning the pipe.  

"Once again, I'd like to thank people for their patience and co-operation. It's been a very difficult time for them. We are doing everything we can to restore the situation to normal."

United Utilities has confirmed that compensation will be paid to those affected.