5000 households in Berwickshire without water due to burst main
SWIFT action was taken earlier this week as thousands of people in Berwickshire were left without water after a burst at Dunslaw Service Reservoir.
Scottish Water engineers spent most of Monday trying to repair the damage after an 18 inch spun-iron outlet main burst and while work was carried out water supplies were shut off throughout Berwickshire.
People in Duns were the first to be affected but by late morning people in Chirnside, Foulden, Hutton, Paxton, Swinton and Whitsome had all been affected with school children sent home from Swinton Primary.
A spokesperson for Scottish Borders Council said this decision was taken due to water storage capacity and resulting problems in supplying sinks and flushing toilets.
Scottish Water first became aware of the burst at around 7am on Monday after they received phone calls from a number of customers and were also contacted by Lothian and Borders Police.
The was some damage to the field in which the main was located and some external damage to the gardens of two neighbouring properties.
A spokesperson for Scottish Water confirmed on Tuesday that the company was working with these customers to resolve the damage to their satisfaction.
Close to 5000 properties in the area were without water at some point during Monday and even when the necessary repairs were completed by 2pm, recharging the lengthy mains network delayed the restoration of drinking water supplies to all customers who'd been affected which prompted Scottish Water to distribute bottled water to key locations in Duns, Chirnside and Swinton.
A spokesperson for NHS Borders said plans were in place should the Knoll Hospital, Duns, have been adversely affected by the burst, but these didn't require to be implemented.
They commented: "No services were affected at the hospital due to the burst water main. The hospital had sufficient water supplies to see it through the timescale predicted by Scottish Water to carry out repairs.
"We did, however, ensure that our business continuity plans were in place should the situation change and we worked with Scottish Borders Council to identify vulnerable people in the affected areas who may require additional support."
It was originally feared that customers in Coldstream would also be affected but fortunately measures were taken to minimise any repercussions.
The upper area of Coldstream was rezoned, with the mains network being redistributed. The lower area of Coldstream is served by a different service reservoir and therefore was not affected by the burst. Customers in Greenlaw also had their water supply network redistributed in line with the upper area of Coldstream.
MSP for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, John Lamont, whose family were affected by the burst, is calling for those who were affected to be duly compensated.
Speaking to The Berwickshire News on Tuesday, he said: "This fault has been a major inconvenience to thousands of Berwickshire residents and I am pleased that the water supply has now been restored.
"I know the affected area well as it is next to my parents' farm and I have been contacted by a number of local residents who were concerned about the situation."
John added: "Scottish Water have a responsibility to maintain their system and I think they should consider whether compensation would be appropriate for people who have either sustained damage to their property or have been inconvenienced by this problem."
A Scottish Water spokesperson confirmed that everything was returned to normal by Monday evening and Craig Lawson, Scottish Water's regional manager for the Borders, apologised for the inconvenience caused by the burst and thanked those affected for their patience.
He said: "We would like to take this opportunity to thank all our customers for their patience and understanding while this significant repair was completed. We empathise with our customers when they are affected by such bursts and that is why our engineers worked as quickly as possible to complete the repair and restore drinking water supplies to the affected area of Berwickshire.
"Scottish Water staff delivered bottled drinking water supplies to schools, hospitals and special needs customers in the affected area, as quickly as possible. Additional bottled water was also made available in the afternoon, for those customers still requiring supplies."
Mid Berwickshire Councillor Frances Renton paid tribute to Scottish Water for their hard work in minimising the impact of the burst and also to the people affected for coping so well.
She said: "Everyone was pleased at the speed Scottish Water worked to get the repairs done so quickly, especially considering the size the burst was. We couldn't fault them in any way.
"Everyone accepted it happened and the local schools coped remarkably well."
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Weather for Duns
Thursday 17 May 2012
Today
Light rain
Temperature: 5 C to 9 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: South west
Tomorrow
Light rain
Temperature: 4 C to 8 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: North east
