Water Problems
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Turlinator
Posts: 4
Joined: Dec 2012
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15-07-2013 10:09 PM
Anyone else having water supply issues at the moment? In Honor Oak Road we've had virtually no water all weekend and none all day today. Thames Water have even started hanging up on us.
Keen to know who else is affected - and I encourage you all to hassle the life out of Thames!
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robbie t
Posts: 16
Joined: Jun 2013
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16-07-2013 10:01 AM
yes we have! cold water! low pressure! last 4-5 days.
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Turlinator
Posts: 4
Joined: Dec 2012
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16-07-2013 10:24 AM
Have you hassled Thames Water? They keep denying there's a problem but it's really worth having a go at them.
The non-0845-rip-off number is: 01793 366001
Where in SE23 are you?
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netty
Posts: 20
Joined: Oct 2007
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17-07-2013 09:19 AM
I am on Horniman Drive and I too have had cold water for the last few days as the pressure is not high enough. I am calling Thames Water now ....
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hasto
Posts: 34
Joined: Dec 2007
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17-07-2013 02:10 PM
I'm on Manor Mount, and it's not been good for the last couple of days.
I called Thames Water yesterday who insisted that there were no problems and no one had reported anything. This morning it was even worse, so I called them and they seem to be aware of the problems and have assured me that it will be fixed by this evening.
If anyone is having problems, they should call and report it (the more the merrier!!) and if you are on Twitter, Tweet frustrations too, they definitely take notice.....
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Turlinator
Posts: 4
Joined: Dec 2012
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17-07-2013 03:01 PM
They keep lying about what they're doing... we're in Honor Oak Road and as a result of their engineers last night, our main is now leaking into the street. No water whatsoever in our block and hundreds of litres of water wasted.
Twitter has been especially handy to vent.
Don't accept their nonsense about the weather causing demand to be higher etc etc. It's like the electric companies moaning that everyone puts their kettles on after Corrie. They should just deal with it.
I've heard (but I've no idea if it's correct) that water companies regularly reduce pressures to save their ancient mains (that they should have replaced decades ago!)
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lacb
Posts: 627
Joined: Mar 2005
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17-07-2013 03:48 PM
We have been having our own water issues not connected to this. As a result, I got chatting to one of their engineers - it was quite illuminating.
It seems that TW used to employ a couple of staff who kept job sheets and sent the engineers out where they were meant to go. It was a simple system but it worked.
Now, they are a long way into a SAP implementation. Engineers get sent to a site but frequently have no idea about case history or even why they have been sent there. The managers can track their location though which is nice.
(For those not in the know SAP is eye-wateringly expensive and complex software that I have reason to believe is very capable - however one needs to spend at least as much on the setup as the purchase itself and the industry is littered with tales of failed implementations where this has not happened).
So, anecdotally, 2 staff have been replaced by a new computer system and an army of SAP consultants. Progress don't you know.
In summary, I doubt they are actually lying, they probably just don't know.
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BT
Posts: 163
Joined: Jul 2003
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17-07-2013 05:25 PM
(For those not in the know SAP is eye-wateringly expensive and complex software that I have reason to believe is very capable - however one needs to spend at least as much on the setup as the purchase itself and the industry is littered with tales of failed implementations where this has not happened).
How right you are. I have first hand experience of SAP. It took my company a whole year to get it set up with a 'task force' of about 15 people. When it was finally implemented you were only allowed access to the bits that directly concerned you or your department. It was extremely complicated and made what was an easy job very complicated, and as there were only 2 people remaining that understood it and could access sections that you sometimes needed to refer to, it often caused long delays.
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Triangle
Posts: 133
Joined: May 2007
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18-07-2013 11:48 AM
There's a lot to be said for the KISS principle. As an engineer, I first came upon it when I was reading up about the American Lockheed SR71 reconaissance aircraft.
KISS is an acronym for "Keep It Simple Stupid" and it was displayed as a large sign above the Lockheed factory floor.
You can apply the KISS principle to most things in life and there's much to be said for keeping things simple. Which reminds me of that other well known saying: "If it 'aint broke, then don't fix it".
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PollyEster63
Posts: 47
Joined: May 2013
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18-07-2013 10:03 PM
There was something on London today about this, at 12.30/1pm...I only caught the last 30 seconds of it, so didn't hear anything of any use. But you might be able to catch it tonight or online
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Sherwood
Posts: 1,416
Joined: Mar 2005
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19-07-2013 08:30 AM
I think it was about water problems in Forest Hill. Looked like Perry Hill to me.
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Erekose
Posts: 557
Joined: May 2010
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19-07-2013 01:52 PM
Maybe its because of the burst water main in Honor Oak?
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bonobo
Posts: 52
Joined: Mar 2013
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19-07-2013 03:15 PM
Could someone tell me where is the burst in Honor Oak Park please?
A surveyor came to my place this morning and he said that there is clean running water from about 195 Devonshire road and going down the road towards the North side of Devonshire road. He said if in a couple of hours it is still running I should call Thames Water.
The surveyor came becasue I have some recent damp in my cellar from clean water which appeared about 3 weeks ago although it has not rained and he also found out that the water meters in front of the house are full of water even though there has been no rain. He highly suspects that the damp comes from a Thames Water issue.
I have a TW engineer coming on 29th July morning. Does anyone wants me to report something else to him on Devonshire Road?
Thank you
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bonobo
Posts: 52
Joined: Mar 2013
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19-07-2013 05:27 PM
Update: I called Thames Water to report the clean water leak on the street starting from 195 Devonshire road in Honor Oak. They said they will fix it within 3 business days, which means by Wednesday next week.
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lacb
Posts: 627
Joined: Mar 2005
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20-07-2013 11:57 AM
Bonobo,
We have been having on-going similar issues, damp cellar, yes, but also flooded too on a couple of occasions. It has been very hard to get TW to take any responsibility. This is not aided in our case, in any sense, in also having a supply side leak, but that is another story and may be what is happening at 195.
Certainly the storm drain seems quite full all the time. Also when a drainage sub-contractor analysed the problem he also noticed that there was lots of clean water running down the sewer further up the road. He seemed to feel that this indicated a leak somewhere.
Perhaps we should talk - PM should you wish to do so.
lacb
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bonobo
Posts: 52
Joined: Mar 2013
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20-07-2013 03:17 PM
Hello lacb,
Yes that would be very useful to talk about these issues. I am more than happy to contact you.
The previous owners of my property said they had two flash floods in 7 years but apart form that there has never been any damp until recently.
Please feel free to provide me a mobile number or an email address and we can discuss out of the forum.
Thank you
Bonobo.
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netty
Posts: 20
Joined: Oct 2007
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22-07-2013 06:35 AM
Hardly any water today, it is much worse than last week. Is anyone else having similar problems? I'm on Horniman Drive.
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Mhaze
Posts: 5
Joined: Jul 2013
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27-07-2013 11:51 AM
Just saw this thread. I'm on Horniman Drive as well and have been having h2o problems recently. Luckily it's been ok since the burst main on Lordship Lane on Wednesday I do believe. TW always puts the problem back on us but it seems to be a much bigger local issue. Next time, as I know there will be a next time unfortunately, I'll make sure to report back on SE23.com!
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bonobo
Posts: 52
Joined: Mar 2013
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27-07-2013 02:41 PM
Update on the clean water leak from 195 Devonshire Road:
I reported the leak on Friday 19th July and I called Thames Water yesterday to follow-up as the water was still running on the street.
Here is was they said:
- An engineer came on 22 July and assessed that a valve outside the property at 195 needs to be replaced.
- It will take a while before the valve is replaced, like 6 to 8 weeks
- The job needs to be booked by the "scheduling team"
I replied that it was very urgent because the leaking water is most likely the cause of the recent damp in my cellar and potentially doing damage to other properties on the road.
The lady I spoke to took a note of the urgency and passed it on to the "scheduling team". She said the "scheduling team" will call me on Monday 29 July between 9am and 5pm (their working hours) to let me know when the replacement will be done.
Until the replacement, the water is still running down the street and it could be for a few more weeks.
If the owners/tenants at 195 Devonshire are reading the forum, could they inform me whether they know since when this clean water leak has been running please? That would be very helpful.
Thank you
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lacb
Posts: 627
Joined: Mar 2005
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28-07-2013 09:59 AM
Thanks for posting an update bonobo.
Having just gone through a similar process to get a supply side leak fixed (now done thankfully but sadly still not the full story), can testify that the 6-8 weeks is a stock response. Once you do get the scheduling team on the case, my understanding is that lead times are more like a week right now.
Having said that, have had to spend hours on the phone chasing this up as, for the reasons mentiond up-thread, TW organisation is embarrassingly bad. I will say though, that every engineer they have sent has been very pleasant and helpful.
Best of luck with it. I suspect these are just 2 leaks out of very many in the vicinity.
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