Oldham residents left without water say no-one seems to care
BBCResidents of four homes which have been left without running water for two months have said "no-one seems to care" about their predicament.
The houses on Crompton Moor, near Shaw in Oldham, are waiting to be connected to the water supply after the well they drew water from dried up.
Jean Mulhall, 88, said having to carry a bucket upstairs every time she used the toilet had left her "so depressed".
United Utilities said faulty pipework had caused delays to connection work.
Ms Mulhall told BBC North West Tonight that having to use bottled water and buckets for cooking, cleaning and flushing the toilet "at my age... is ridiculous".
"I am so, so depressed about it, I really am," she added.
Her neighbour Glenice Summerscales said "no-one seems to care" about the situation, adding: "I've had enough."
Fellow resident Martin Fielding said he had resorted to washing outside from a bucket.
"Every morning when I get up, I am filling up pans of water," he said.
"We have been trying to get connected to the water supply now for four years, but it's just not happening."
He added that the households had been told that even if the supply to the well they were using returned, it would no longer be safe to use.
A spokesman for United Utilities, which has provided bottled water during the recent hot weather, said the firm understood the "frustration the residents have at the time it has taken to try and be connected to the mains network".
"Unfortunately, the pipework laid out by the private contractor requires significant remedial works before it can be connected to the water main," he added.
The spokesman said it had explained that either larger diameter supply pipes needed to be installed or a pumping system was required at the bottom of the hill.
He added that the company was currently waiting for residents and the contractor to inform them of their decision and were ready to help connect to the mains as soon as possible.
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