Water supplies returning to normal for Eden Valley

United Utilities has confirmed the network which emptied impacting water supplies for around 8,000 properties in Eden Valley is now refilled.

The water firm said it will continue to have a presence in the area as further poor weather is expected over the next few days and a small number of properties may continue to need support, whilst the network returns to normal.

The problem occurred after Storm Ciara severely damaged one of the water pipes near Shap.

Martin Padley, Water Service Director at United Utilities, said: “The damaged caused presented us with very significant challenges and we have had over 500 members of staff working around the clock to either repair the damaged pipe or helping to reduce the impact as much as possible on customers.

"Treacherous weather conditions have not helped the situation, but we would like to thank the community for bearing with us.  In particular the kindness shown to our teams on site and how people have helped each other with the bottled water supplies.

“To offer further reassurance, particularly as we brace ourselves for Storm Dennis, engineers will be continually monitoring the water main throughout the weekend.”

As engineers battled to fix the pipe, over 144,000 litres of bottled water was made available across the impacted area and 45 mobile water tankers helped maintain some water supplies.

A special helpline for farmers worried about livestock was set-up as efforts continued to repair the storm-damaged water pipe.

“We are confident water supplies should now be returning to normal. Some may notice a slightly lower than normal water pressure which will continue to improve as this builds back up in the network,” added Martin.

Anyone who has no water should call United Utilities on 0345 672 3723.