Kingston Road In South Wimbledon Is Turned Into A River

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Homes and businesses across the area still without water

 

A burst water main caused a major flood on the main Kingston Road through South Wimbledon yesterday (July 3).

The first reports of the incident appeared around lunchtime yesterday, and the fire brigade had to divert traffic away from the scene.

The water was up to a foot deep from near South Wimbledon tube station to Merton Hall further up the road towards Merton Park. The flooding extended right down all the side roads off the road, which is a key arterial route into central London.

Merton Police advised motorists to stay away from the area as the main road, and surrounding roads were closed.

Staff from Thames Water worked to fix the burst overnight. Meanwhile, there are still reports today (July 4) from across Wimbledon and Colliers Wood of homes with no water supply, while there are power failures elsewhere.

It is understood Thames Water had stop the flood by turning off a valve in Tooting, and then re-route the water supply.

Thames Water said once the water was diverted from the 30 inch "strategic main" pipe, a second burst further down the network led to reduced pressure.

When the flood was eventually stopped, there was a big hole in middle of the road where there's a pedestrian crossing at Merton Hall (scroll down for picture courtesy of @KevinronneilO).

Thames Water have made bottled water available close to Wimbledon fire station and will be organising further local collection points.

In a statement they said: "We apologise to customers who are experiencing low pressure or no water. This is due to a large burst water main on Kingston Road SW19

"We've re-routed water from other parts of the network while we fix the burst and most customers within KT3/6 and 20 should be in supply. These customers may notice a dip in pressure during peak draw.

"Due to the size of the area affected, customers within SW19/17 and CR4 area may still be experiencing interruptions to their water supply."

It is also responsible for cleaning up the debris left behind and repairing the road.

UK Power Networks is working to get people’s electricity back on.

A Merton Council spokesperson said: “We worked all day yesterday with the emergency services, Thames Water, UK Power Networks and Virgin as fast as possible to react to the flooding.

It says it continues to liaise with the various agencies today, acting as a borough liaison to advise on the best routes to divert traffic and liaise with third parties.

A selection of images from the scene on Sunday:

Pic courtsey of @AlexanderECGray

Pic courtesy of @KevinronneilO

Pic courtesy of @PiCiboSW19

Pic courtesy of @KevinronneilO

Pic courtesy of @KevinronneilO

Were you affected by the flood? Why not comment on our forum?

July 4, 2016