No supply and brown water in Truro, St Agnes: South West Water update

Last night the Packet reported how some properties were experiencing low pressure, while some people have spoken of being down to "a drip" or having none at all.

Many homes will have been reconnected this morning, but are likely to have discoloured water that they are advised not to drink - although it won't hurt you if you do accidentally.

South West Water will be delivering water to its most vulnerable customers today and collection points have been set up St Agnes Carpark (TR5 OTP) and Carnon Downs Village Hall (TR3 6GH). 

The damage centres around Truro, but is affecting water supplies in properties between the TR1 and T16 postcode areas, including Perranporth, St Agnes, Carnon Downs and even parts of Redruth.

A spokesperson for South West Water said yesterday evening: "We're investigating a burst water main in Truro caused by damage to a mains pipe from a third-party contractor, who was laying cable for a renewable energy installation.

"The affected areas reach from Carland Cross to Trevu, including parts of Perranporth, St Agnes, Goonhaven and parts of Redruth.

"We have our engineers onsite assessing the situation and the length of the repair, as we look to stabilise the situation.

"We're working very hard to get things back to normal as quickly as we possibly can and we apologise for any inconvenience caused."

This morning the company has given an update to say that the extent of the damage was "significant and complex", and actually involved two pipes.

Having worked through the night, repairs to the first pipe are now complete, with South West Water said should mean "a large majority" of customers will have their water restored this morning.

South West Water engineers working on the damaged pipes on Monday night Picture: South West Water

However, it warned that the pressure may be low whilst the pipe re-charges back to normal pressure.

A spokesperson continued: "Some customers who live on higher ground may continue to have no water, this will improve once the second water pipe has been repaired today. As soon as the second repair has been completed we will let you know.

"It is very likely customers will experience discoloured water for some time after the repair is completed. If you experience discoloured water, please don’t worry. Iron and Manganese particles are always present in our raw water supplies but are reduced to very low levels by our treatment processes.

"When flow of water changes in our system, this can disturb any residue that forms a coating on our pipes, and this can lead to the water temporarily taking on a brown or orange appearance – but there is nothing to worry about.

"We understand that due to its appearance customers may not wish to use their supply and whilst we don’t recommend that you drink it, if you accidentally consume any it will not do you any harm."

People are being asked to used as little water as possible while the issue remains ongoing.

"We would like to ask our customer that if you do have water please limit water use where you can to allow us to concentrate efforts on repairing the burst main," added the spokesperson.

"We are prioritising water deliveries for our most vulnerable customers and will be setting up water collection points.

"Thank you for your patience and understanding, and we’ll keep you updated with progress."