Thames Water outage – live: Schools forced to close as supply problem hits London

Thames Water apologies as buildings across capital left with no running water or low pressure

(Getty Images)

Schools in London have been forced to shut after their water ran out due to a power supply issue at a treatment plant in the capital.

Homes have also been left without water or low pressure following a power supply issue at the Ashford and Hampton water treatment works in west London.

“We’re really sorry if you have low pressure or no water,” Thames Water said in a statement. “We’re working hard to fix the issue and to get things back to normal.”

Postcodes in south and west London are predominantly affected by the outage, with around 35 areas in total dealing with supply issues.

The Vineyard School and St Richards Reynolds schools in Richmond and Twickenham have confirmed they have closed.

Key Points

• Schools forced to shut due to no running water
• Thames Water says outage caused by power issue at treatment works
• Water supply problems in London

[13 September 2023 10:56 · Matt Mathers]

Good morning and welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of water supply issues in London.

The west and southwest of the capital appear to be affected by the issue, with a number of schools forced to close.

Homes are also affected. Stay tuned for the latest updates.

[13 September 2023 11:01 · Matt Mathers]

What has Thames Water said?

Thames Water has said the outage has been caused by a power supply issue at treatment works.

The problem was identified at the Ashford and Hampton plant in west London.

“We’re working hard to fix the issue and to get things back to normal,” a statement said.

“We’ll provide further updates here as soon as we have more information.”

[13 September 2023 11:07 · Matt Mathers]

What areas are affected?

So far, all the areas affected are in west and southwest London, according to Thames Water.

The supplier said the following postcodes are experiencing supply issues or low pressure:

SW4, SW8, SW9, SW13, SW14, SW15, SW18, SW19, TW1, TW2, TW3, TW4, TW5, TW7, TW8, TW9, TW10, TW11, TW12, TW13, TW14, TW17, W1H, W1H, W1M, W1N, W2, W3, W4, W6, W7, W10, W12, W13, W14

File photo: Houses in London (PA)

[13 September 2023 11:11 · Matt Mathers]

Two schools close over water issues

At least two schools have been forced to close this morning due to water supply issues.

The Vineyard School in Richmond shut after its water completely stopped.

St Richard Reynolds in Twickenham also closed, saying “due to water issues, the college site has no option but to close”.

[13 September 2023 11:27 · Matt Mathers]

Local MP trying to get more information

A local MP has said she is trying to get more information from Thames Water about when its supply issues will be resolved.

“I’m trying to get more information for local residents and alarmed that schools are having to close because of this issue,” Munira Wilson, the Liberal Democrat MP for Twickenham, wrote on X.

[13 September 2023 11:36 · Matt Mathers]

Issue resolved but water tankers being sent to critical infrastructure as precaution

The power issue that caused water outages has been resolved and supply will return to buildings today, a Thames Water spokesperson has said.

Water tankers will be sent "as a precaution" to affected areas to "support local hospitals and critical infrastructure", the spokesperson added.

“Getting water supplies back on is our top priority and while our team work on this we’re identifying everyone in the affected area who has pre-registered with us as having special requirements, such as being medically reliant on water, so we can get in touch and make sure we give them the help and support they need,” they added.

File photo: A Thames Water tanker pumps water during a drought (PA Wire)

[13 September 2023 12:30 · Matt Mathers]

Thames Water outage: List of places across London left without water

Thames Water has put out a list of areas impacted by the low water or no water pressure.

Faiza Saqib reports:

[13 September 2023 13:06 · Matt Mathers]

Full list of schools closed due to water issues

Richmond Council has said that a total of 14 schools have been forced to shut as a result of water supply issues.

Thames Water says the power issue that caused the problems has been resolved and supply will return today.

Below is a full list of the schools affected.

• Bishop Perrin Primary
• Buckingham Primary
• Carlisle Infant
• Christs Secondary
• Kew Riverside Primary
• Nelson Primary
• St Edmunds Primary
• St James Primary
• St Richard Reynolds High
• Sheen Mount Primary
• The Russell Primary
• Twickenham Primary Academy
• Vineyard Primary
• Waldegrave Secondary

[13 September 2023 14:03 · Matt Mathers]

Sadiq Khan among politicians seeking answers on Thames Water outage

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan called on Thames Water to provide "the answers Londoners want about why this has happened and how to ensure it does not happen again".

MPs have called on Thames Water to resolve the issue.

Sarah Olney, Liberal Democrat MP for Richmond Park said on X, formerly known as Twitter: "I’ve just learnt that areas across the constituency will have no, or low, water pressure today due to a power supply issue at the Ashford and Hampton Treatment Works.

"I’ve reached out to Thames Water to ask when residents can expect the issue to be resolved."

[13 September 2023 15:07 · Matt Mathers]

We’re wrapping up our coverage of this story as Thames Water says it has resolved the power issue.

Water supply in the affected areas would return to normal by the end of today, it added.

Thanks for reading and enjoy the rest of your day.