Wet year but use water 'wisely'
Homeowners and businesses have been urged to use water "wisely" despite one of the wettest years on record in 2012.
South's water bills hike
Householders in the South are to be hit with the largest increase in water bills this year.
Water firm defends restrictions
Two of the region's water firms have lifted their hosepipe bans. However, South East Water's ban remains. Meridian asked the firm why.
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Wet year but use water 'wisely'
Homeowners and businesses have been urged to use water "wisely" despite one of the wettest years on record in 2012.
Read the full storyPumping lorries 'a short term fix'
Engineers are using tanker lorries to relieve pressure on overloaded areas of the network is a short-term fix ahead of what the company hopes will be long-term solutions, which will be different for each flooding hotspot.
– Bob Collington, Thames Water’s head of operational control“Although the bulk of the work on inspecting the state of the sewers cannot be done until they have less water in them, we have already started looking at what we can do to mitigate against this kind of problem in future."
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Rivers spill over with more rain on the way
With rivers bursting their banks and groundwater brimming at the surface, the additional rainwater will put additional pressure on the underground sewers which are already full.
The firm, which operates more than 67,000 miles of sewers, has been struggling in some areas to cope with the additional water filling up its pipes.
Serious pressure on our sewers
With groundwater levels still at a record high, Thames Water warned today that the forecast rain is likely to lead to further problems at flooding hotspots on its sewer network.
South's water bills hike
Householders in the South are to be hit with the largest increase in water bills this year.
Read the full storyBurst pipe leaves hundreds of homes without water
by Mel BloorHundreds of people in Berkshire woke up this morning to find they had no water for a bath or shower or even to make a cup of tea.
The taps were running dry in up to one thousand three hundred homes because of a burst water pipe between Reading's main water works and the Earley storage reservoir. Mel Bloor reports.
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Engineers working to restore water supplies
Thousands of people in Reading have been left without water after a mains burst near the town.
Thames Water said that by nine o'clock this morning they had received nine hundred calls from customers with either no water or low water pressure in their homes. Engineers are working to restore the supply.
Bottled water being handed out to Reading homes
Water supplies to be restored in Reading - statement
Thames Water has said that homes affected by a mains burst in Reading should be re-connected in a matter of hours.
The company said it has received almost 1,000 complaints from customers in the area this morning.
Water supplies are set to be restored in the next few hours to most of the customers in and around south Reading whose supplies were interrupted by a burst main early this morning.
"We have turned off water running through the broken pipe and we are now re-routing water to the affected areas from other parts of the network.
"Water pressure is now starting to build back up in the network and by mid afternoon normal service should have been restored to most affected customers in the RG2 and RG7 postal areas.
– Thames Water spokesmanMeanwhile our engineers are digging out the broken section of pipe to replace it. The main, which takes treated water from Reading's main water works to Earley storage reservoir, burst at 4.30am.
“By 10am we had received 900 reports from customers in the RG2 and RG7 postal areas with either no water or low pressure.
“We are sorry to everyone affected by this.”
Reading water leak 'not a straightforward job' - statement
A Thames Water spokesman said: "A large pipe, which takes treated water from Reading's main water works to Earley storage reservoir, burst early this morning.
"At 8am we had received 200 reports from customers in the RG2 and RG7 postal areas with either no water or low pressure.
"We are working to stem the flow as our engineers dig up the broken section of pipe in order to fix it while trying to minimise the number of properties whose supplies are affected.
"This is not a straightforward job. The pipe has burst right beside the canal near the entrance to our water works.
"Due to recent heavy rain the ground is already very muddy, making conditions more difficult for our engineers.
"We are sorry to everyone affected by this. We are working to fix the pipe and restore service to normal for our customers as soon as possible."
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