Leak fixed within month say Thames Water

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Meeting hears pledge of action over flooding

At a meeting with councillors and local resident last week has secured a promise of decisive action on the issue.A senior Thames Water manager said that the large mains burst on Acton High Street will be fixed so that it cannot happen again – “I will solve the problem in a month”.

Cllr. Gary Malcolm who represents the Southfield ward for the Liberal Democrats welcomed the decision that Thames Water will rectify the situation for the many residents who have had to move out or disrupted because of the flood. At the meeting there were also officers from Ealing Council who answered questions from many Acton residents who felt they have been let down by Thames Water.

For those who live in the Horn Lane area the news is not so good. Thames Water said that to fix the problems that caused the flooding in August this year a lot of research and engineering work would need to be done. A man from Thames Water said it could be two years or more before a scheme is introduced to fix the difficulties.

Cllr Malcolm, a Lib Dem parliamentary spokesperson, said: “it is a shame that what was said to be a relatively simple solution to the Acton High Street water mains problem could not have been introduced a number of years ago. Too many people have suffered because of a cost saving attitude.”

Cllr Malcolm added: “I feel for the residents who had their homes flooded in the Horn Lane area. They should not have to wait two years for the problem to be resolved. Thames Water should have been proactive a number of years ago. This would have stopped many of the recent floods from occurring.”

He urged the Council to work with Thames Water to arrange more regular gully cleaning which would reduce the incidence of flooding in the area. He said he will be working hard to make sure that Thames Water provide the short term measures that they promised would be looked into last night. Examples are “non-return” valves which stops water going back into people’s homes and so flooding houses. Flood doors only cost about one thousand pounds – which should be installed by Thames Water in the Horn Lane area to prevent damage to properties.

The chaos caused in Acton by the recent burst main has led to international interest in the way water privatisation is working in the UK. Cllr. Malcolm was interviewed by a documentary team from Germany making a programme about the issue.

November 8, 2004