Ceredigion: Water supply still off for hundreds of homes

Hundreds of homes in west Wales are still without water after bad weather.

Welsh Water said on Monday it hoped to restore water supply to about 4,500 Ceredigion homes before the end of Tuesday after several days of issues.

But on Wednesday night, about 200 households were still without water, with people having to travel to other towns with containers to fetch water.

The provider said it had made "good progress" overnight and would continue to work to fix remaining problems.

Problems began on Saturday when properties near Cardigan and in Carmarthenshire lost their water supply.

Anwen Francis, from Cenarth, Carmarthenshire, was still waiting to have her water turned back on earlier after going without since the weekend.

Speaking to BBC Radio Cymru, she said: "We can't shower, can't wash dishes, can't use the dishwasher or washing machine.

"We have horses and have to go to another village closer to Cardigan to get water, fill buckets and containers on a daily basis. I'm not critical of Welsh Water as it's a huge job they have, but it's Wednesday and I'm starting to worry about when we will get the supply back.

"The community is pulling together and helping others. I just wonder when it'll come back.

Facilities including some schools and leisure centres, have been forced to close.

The Ray Centre in Aberaeron said there had been a "big impact" on communities.

Manager Gill Byrne told Radio Wales Breakfast: "We had to cancel all the activities this week, staff had to go home. We have a dementia support group and that's in jeopardy without water.

"Around us, we have elderly people living and they were without water, and their bathrooms are upstairs so [they] can't carry water up. It's had a big impact."

She added people feel there has been "insufficient communication from Welsh Water" with people not knowing "what's happening day to day".

On Wednesday night, Welsh Water said: "Good progress has been made restoring supplies and we now have up to 200 properties which remain without water following the freeze-thaw which are proving particularly challenging due to issues identified as the water network has re-pressurised.

"Other supply issues in the area will mainly be linked to air locks in the system which can cause further temporary interruptions to supply. We have teams working around the clock to locate and fix any such issues.

"Some other areas of our operations may be affected by burst mains unrelated to the freeze thaw, which occur under normal circumstances.

"We continue to have bottled water stations at various locations in the affected areas as a precautionary measure."