LATEST UPDATE — 2.45pm: A number of schools have been forced to close for the day because of the outage, including Esher Sixth Form College, Holy Cross School, Long Ditton Infant and Nursery School and Thames Ditton Infant School. Thames Water says the burst main in Molesey has now been isolated and all customers should see their supply return shortly, though some may experience low pressure. A bottled water station will open this afternoon for those who need it, with the location still to be confirmed.
Thousands of households across south-west London and Surrey woke to dry taps this morning after a major water main burst, forcing schools to close their gates and sending shoppers queuing for rationed bottled water.
The large Thames Water main failed at around 6.30am on Sunday 28 September, cutting supplies across multiple postcodes. Monica Harding, MP for Esher and Walton, said she had been told the broken pipe was leaking at roughly 750 litres a second in the early hours — enough to fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool in just under an hour.
Schools across the affected area told parents to keep children at home for the day. Without running water on site, schools cannot meet basic hygiene standards and kitchens cannot prepare meals, leaving headteachers with little choice but to shut.
At a glance
- What: a large burst Thames Water main
- When: around 6.30am on Sunday 28 September
- Leak rate: about 750 litres per second, according to the local MP
- Repair status: specialist engineers on site; water being rerouted around the damaged section
- Next update: Thames Water expected to brief again by 11.30am
Thames Water said a specialist team was on site working to stop water flooding from the broken pipe. “We’re dealing with a large burst water main which is affecting the water supply to the wider area,” a spokesperson said. “We’ve rerouted water around the area and customers in the Surbiton area should begin to see their water return shortly. The pressure may be lower than normal, but this will return once we’ve fixed the broken pipe.”
Where supplies are affected
Reports this morning point to disruption in:
- Molesey
- Esher
- Walton
- Thames Ditton
- Surbiton
Thames Water says customers in the Surbiton area should begin to see their water return shortly as supplies are rerouted, though pressure may stay lower than normal until the pipe is fixed.
Ms Harding said she had been in direct contact with the company and warned it was the second major failure to hit her constituents in three months. “This is the second major incident in three months to disrupt the lives of residents of Esher and Walton,” she said. “Once supply is back, I will be pressing Thames Water for a full explanation of why this keeps happening and what they are doing to stop it happening again.”
The outage has spilled into daily life. Supermarkets in the affected area have been rationing bottled water, with customers queuing to stock up for the day ahead. One local business, Wright Shine, said the loss of supply meant it could not carry out its usual services — but offered to deliver water from its onboard tank to elderly or vulnerable residents who needed it.
What to do if your water is affected
- Check Thames Water’s website and social channels for live updates and the locations of any bottled water stations.
- Elderly residents, people with medical conditions and families with young children can join the Priority Services Register for extra help during outages.
- When supply returns, run the cold kitchen tap briefly until the water runs clear — trapped air can cause sputtering or slight discolouration at first.
- Hold off using hot taps, dishwashers and washing machines until pressure is back to normal.
- Report visible leaks or flooding from the burst to Thames Water so engineers can find them faster.
It marks a sharp escalation of the disruption reported earlier this morning, when homes across south-west London were already coping with low water pressure. The company has faced similar emergencies elsewhere on its network, including a burst main in Redbridge that left households facing days of repairs.
Thames Water said it would provide a further update by 11.30am.
