Residents in parts of Surrey and south London have been told they could face a complete loss of water supply after a major fault at a water company’s treatment works.
Sutton and East Surrey (SES) Water said its customers around Sutton, Morden and Epsom could be affected as it carried out “essential repairs” on Monday.
A bottled water station has been set up at Bourne Hall in Ewell, Surrey, as a makeshift solution, while the issues at its Cheam Water Treatment Works was resolved.
The company had earlier said that parts of Carshalton, Cheam, North Cheam, Wallington, Hackbridge, Worcester Park, Ewell and South Croydon may also have experienced issues with their water supply.
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Luke Taylor, Lib Dem MP for Sutton and Cheam, said on X, formerly Twitter, that the situation was “not good enough” and he would be monitoring the situation closely.
He said: “I have been informed by SES this afternoon of a fault at the Cheam Water Treatment Works.
“Despite efforts by SES teams to repair a critical valve failure and sustain the water supply through alternative measures, they have been unable to fully resolve the fault.
“Unfortunately, this means the supply across the network has diminished, and some customers may now experience interruptions to their water supply, including complete loss of service.”
Mr Taylor added: “I have contacted SES to tell them that this is not good enough for residents in Sutton and Cheam and that addition water stations must be set up closer to local residents.”
He said later that two extra botte stations in Epsom and Cheam would not be open until tomorrow.
SES Water said: “Due to an ongoing fault at our Cheam Water Treatment Works, customers in parts of Sutton, Morden and Epsom may be experiencing low pressure or no supply.
“Our engineers are working hard to fix the problem as quickly as possible and we have a bottled water station set up at Bourne Hall in Ewell, KT17 1UG.
“We’re sorry for the disruption caused and thank you for bearing with us while we make these essential repairs.”
SES Water supplies 160 million litres of water to more than 750,000 people in parts of Surrey, Kent and south London each day, according to the company’s website.
Pennon, which also owns South West Water, Bristol Water and Bournemouth Water, was cleared to buy the company for £350 million in June.