Thousands face two-day wait for water as pipe fixed

Thousands of homes are set to be without water for another two days, despite a burst water pipe that caused widespread disruption being fixed.

Welsh Water said the pipe, in Dolgarrog, Conwy county, which split on Wednesday, had been repaired but water would not be fully restored for "up to 48 hours".

An estimated 40,000 homes are thought to be without water, while schools and businesses have also been heavily affected.

Gareth Evans from Welsh Water said the problem was caused by rocks pressing on the pipe, which was in a river.

He said what appeared to be "movement within the river bed" meant rocks created a small hole that leading to a larger leak and a then a "catastrophic failure" of a coupling which connects pipes together.

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Addressing concerns the pipe might fail again as the pressure increased, he said: "We have comprehensively repaired at this location, it's been fully-flow tested and pressure tested in the last few hours."

In a statement on Friday afternoon, Welsh Water said it could be 48 hours before water is fully restored to all areas affected as the pipe was a high-pressure water main that had to be refilled "very carefully to avoid further bursts".

The network is almost 900km (560 miles) long and includes 13 underground storage tanks, the largest of which is the size of nine Olympic-size swimming pools.

The company said the water would come back on at different times for different people and that "discoloured water" was normal after a supply interruption and was usually temporary.

Chief executive Peter Perry apologised to all those affected, describing the situation as a "significant emergency" which the company could not have "foreseen or prevented".

"We are very sorry that it has taken this time to get it back on."

Welsh Water has said it will offer £30 compensation to domestic households and £75 to businesses for every 12 hours without water.

But North Wales minister Ken Skates said that offer should be increased considerably.

"There is a very strong case that Dwr Cymru Welsh Water need to reflect on the compensation they are proposing," he said.

"Residents, domestic customers and businesses have suffered extraordinary stress during these times. Many of these businesses have also lost a huge amount in revenue."

Responding to criticism about the offered compensation, Mr Perry said traders could mount a claim if they had lost profit due to the lack of water.

Concerns have been raised about the impact the incident is having on the vulnerable and the elderly.

Steffan Robbins, who runs Orme View Care Home in Llandudno, said he was concerned about the risk of infection caused by having no water, meaning residents and staff cannot wash their hands.

He said residents had to eat off paper plates and use wooden cutlery.

Mr Robbins said the home had now gone 24 hours without water and, despite getting 200 litres of water from Welsh Water on Thursday, they were down to 70 litres by Friday afternoon

He said the 14 residents were struggling with not being able to have showers or baths.

"Luckily we have hand wipes for meal times, but we are having to use them for toilets as well," he said.

"I understand there is limited resources, but we are a 24-hour service. Just bottled water is not enough."

A community club for the elderly and vulnerable, Clwb yr Efail, had to close its doors on Friday.

Terry James, the club's chairman, said the priority was to support those who normally come to them for a meal, particularly those on a low-income.

"Many of our people are in their 80s, some in their 90s. The club is a haven during the day," he said.

Many live alone and some do not have access to social media and were therefore not being updated, Mr James added.

The ongoing water outage also forced blind veterans staying at the Llandudno centre to be transported home on Friday.

Some residents resorted to using stream and pond water to flush their toilets, while others have ventured out to sea to keep their toilet clean, according to social media users.

One woman said she used water collected in the water butt to flush her toilets while another used water from the "goldfish pond".

Welsh Water apologised and said it recognised "the inconvenience being experienced by customers", with compensation due to be paid to those affected.

Eligible households will be paid £30 for every 12 hours their supplies have been affected while business customers will be paid £75 for every 12 hours.

The company said two bottled water stations were running in Conwy, one in Park Eirias and another in Zip World, with a third planned.

Bottled drinking water and static tanks are available on both sites for customers to bring their own containers to fill up with water for flushing - but the company asked customers to only take what they need.

Large queues of cars were waiting to go on site at Zip World Conwy on Friday, with a queue snaking about half a mile down the road.

Jo Duffy from Llandudno, drove five miles to get water after losing her supply on Thursday afternoon.

"We shouldn't have to come all the way over here," she said Ms Duffy.

"We can't even flush the toilet."

Gwrych Castle in Abergele said it was offering water for the most vulnerable, as its main water supply was reconnected on Friday afternoon.

Water supply issues remain at hospital sites in Llandudno, Colwyn Bay and Bryn-y Neuadd but there has been no disruption to services, according to Betsi Cadwaladr health board.

Imran Devji, its interim chief operating officer, said bottled water and temporary toilet facilities have been supplied to support staff with face-to-face appointments.

People who need to be seen in person are being treated at alternative sites, including Colwyn Bay Hospital and Llandudno Hospital.

Additional reporting by Charlie Buckland and Carwyn Jones