Northumbrian Water is continuing to work hard in the aftermath of Storm Arwen.
Loss of power to a large number of our sites and pumping stations due to the extreme weather meant that customers in some areas had their water supply interrupted. Water supplies have been restored for the overwhelming majority of customers, and we are working to support a small number of customers still affected while we continue to strive to get their supply back on.
Over Tuesday and Wednesday, customers in areas around Berwick, Cambo, Bingfield, Byrness, Rochester, Slaley, Whickham and Wooler became the latest to see their water restored.
Some customers, particularly on higher ground, may still be experiencing some intermittent issues, such as low pressure, while the situation returns to normal.
The water company is also working with Northumberland Fire and Rescue, County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue and the NFU to support farmers affected by loss of water supply due to Storm Arwen.
Any farmers in Northumberland and County Durham who are still without water for their livestock and animals due to an airlock in the system, as a result of Storm Arwen, are asked to send their address and details to us via a direct message on Twitter @nwater_care or via Messenger on Facebook.
Keith Haslett, Water Director at Northumbrian Water said: “Our teams are continuing to work around the clock to resolve the issues caused by Storm Arwen and the overwhelming majority of customers who lost their water supply have now had it restored. We would like to thank customers for their patience and understanding in what has been a very difficult week for those affected. As well as the power outages hitting some of our treatment works and pumping stations, our teams faced challenging conditions as they worked around the region to fix problems, install back-up power sources, deliver bottled water to customers and, ultimately, restore supplies. We have managed to get all but a small number of customers back on supply and we are working closely with Northern Powergrid to restore service to normal for everybody.”
In some areas, where water has been restored, it will take time for the network to fully return to a situation where it is service as usual. We would ask customers to use water considerately to help us to protect our supplies while we work to achieve this.
We have been pro-actively contacting customers on our Priority Service Register in the areas that have had issues and been dropping off provisions to these people.
We’re asking that customers only use our phone lines to reach us if they need emergency assistance, as we need to keep our phone lines free to help anyone in need. The number to use is 0345 7171100.