5pm Update on Liverpool water supplies

• Burst pipe has been repaired
• New water delivery station set up
• Compensation will be paid to anyone without water for more than 12 hours

The situation is improving for customers in parts of Liverpool and Sefton who have been affected by a burst water pipe since yesterday. The areas affected are within the following postcode areas: L9, L20, L21, L22, L23, L30.

18,000 properties now have water, after supplies were re-routed through other parts of the supply network. The remaining 14,000 properties are expected to have their supply restored tonight now that the water main repair has been completed.

Water delivery stations are handing out free bottled water to customers at the following locations until 9pm on Sunday evening:

• Netherton Activity Centre, Glovers Lane, Netherton, L30 3TL
• Tesco, Litherland

So far 100,000 bottles of water have been handed out to residents, and United Utilities has been making deliveries of water direct to more than 1,600 vulnerable customers.

The problem has been caused by a burst water main on Church Road near the junction of Netherton Way in Litherland. United Utilities has been working around the clock on repairs, which took longer than expected to complete.

It has been announced that household customers who have been without water for more than 12 hours will automatically receive compensation.

In the meantime, water has been diverted through other parts of the supply network and a fleet of water tankers are in the area pumping directly into the water network to help boost the pressure.

United Utilities’ incident manager Simon Chadwick explained:
“We are very sorry and we appreciate how inconvenient this is for the customers affected. We have been working around the clock on this incident but due to its complexity it is taking longer than we would like to resolve.

“Repair work on the pipe is now complete but it will take time now for the water main to refill and to re-pressurise the supply network. We will continue to provide updates direct to customers over the course of this evening and we thank everyone for their patience in the meantime.

“While our immediate priority is to restore water supplies, I want to reassure customers that we will be making automatic compensation payments to anyone who has gone without water for more than 12 hours. Householders affected do not need to contact us, this will all happen automatically over the coming days.”

United Utilities is providing regular text and email updates to customers in the affected areas. Information will also be updated on United Utilities’ website at www.unitedutilities.com and on social media.