Households in parts of Lichfield have been left without water due to a leak.
Engineers have been carrying out tests to work out where the problem is in the local pipe network.
It comes after residents experienced a loss of pressure and water supply throughout the evening yesterday (26th December).
A South Staffs Water spokesperson said:
“We’re working to resolve the issue in Lichfield.
“We’re looking for a leak in the area and our engineers are on site carrying out tests to narrow down the location.”
South Staffs Water spokesperson
Update: South Staffs Water say the leak was eventually resolved in the early hours of today. Residents have been told water may be discoloured, so they should run the cold tap until it is clear again.
We have now been without water for four and a half hours and South Staffs Water have tweeted “we’re looking for a leak in the area… if you spot anything please let us know”. This suggests they haven’t a clue and are hoping that someone will tell them where it is! It must be one hell of a ‘leak’ if Lichfield north is off!
My water is still working but my water is running yellow like almost the colour of urine? I’m very concerned as obviously we have water but it seems to be contaminated and I am concerned about using it, I understand on going issues with people having any access to water but I would like to know why this is happening and why my water is discoloured and looks dirty(this has only started in the last couple of hours)
1.41 am they said it’s sorted. Been running my water for 10 minutes solid, still looks like cream….
This was no leak, the water never stopped but it basically cream, this stinks of something more and especially when tied to their statement from 3 days ago about teams being on ‘standby’
Trying to find a leak is not easy. Teams are always on standby 365 days and 24/7
My water has been cloudy when running it its been making noises hasn’t been right for 2 weeks even fish in tank was upset with it all water wasn’t working till early in the morning water was cloudy when running.l would like to know what the problem was
Jamie, do you think South Staffs Water are trying to make us drink and wash in cream?
Thank goodness fir the engineers.
Couldn’t get in touch with anyone at south staffs water..
I did look on there web site.. And soon realised they were on the job..
Water tastes horrible ? Comes out clean it’s 1:30pm
@Jamie : Are you suggesting a sinister conspiracy from staffs water ?. I don’t know what tweet you are refering too as teams are always on standby 365 days of the year.
@Alice : If you consider the Lichfield area is quite large and leaks don’t always show as a ‘puddle’ at the roadside. If its a deep main then the leak will be absorbed into the ground and not show on the surface. So the team will need to travel the area checking the mains pressure test points around the area to try and detect a drop in presssure. So yes the water company won’t “have a clue” to it’s location as you suggest, until they find it, which could just as likely be in the middle of a field. I’m not sure what you were expecting.
Also as you say, it could be one hell of a leak with mains water probably coming into Lichfield on a 250mm water main at 10bar pressure, and take my word on it that when a pipe this large leaks it can be quite spectacular. The water coming into your house will be a 32mm pipe with the pressure reduced (less than 1 bar) for domestic use.
Before I get blamed for the leak, I can assure you that I’m retired and only worked on the periphery of the water supply industry.
The most frustrating thing about this business was being unable to get through on their ‘emergency’ number! So many people complaining, at least those of us online were able to receive information from the South Staffs website- what about people who do not use computers?
@Mrs H : I’m sure South Staffs Water can employ more operators, for boxing day evening, to cover that rare chance that there is a water outage. I say rare as maybe I’ve been lucky in life that I’ve never experienced a water outage in 57 years.
Obviously this extra phone coverage will increase everyones utilities bill.
Fair play @PO. I used to work in the customer facing operational side for a water company. We certainly live in a society where folk think taking to social media, or clogging up phone lines only to complain they can get through when clearly the information is available on a website the progress on a leak, or loss of supply.
Do people actually think the Ops guys and gals sit around in the mindset they aren’t doing everything to get folk back on supply.
Note to those with discoloured water. Run you tap at closet point on entry at a pencil thin stream. If taps are left full bore all you’re doing is dragging through the harmless sediment which sits on the bottom of mains pipes.
RG: Even in these enlightened times not everyone has a computer although government and businesses think they should but they are not prepared to pay for it or the broadband costs.
Good tip about running taps slowly to clear sediment. I also found to my cost taps with ceramic discs can be damaged by sediment resulting in a dripping tap afterwards. I now run my outside tap, which has the old rubber washer which is easier to change, in such circumstances.
Yes it was frustrating trying to get through on the emergency number at the time, I can only assume they were deluged (sorry for pun) with phone calls. It is worth reflecting that we lost water supply for a few hours, whereas for millions of people in the poorest countries, this is part of their daily lives. Yes, we pay for water supply, and I’m sure they would if they had any money. Just a thought.
Don’t be so wet.