Mike Pearse reports from Cranleigh and talks to residents, Cllr Liz Townsend and Danny Leamon, Operations Director for Thames Water. Thames Water says supplies have been restored to most homes across Surrey and Sussex that were left without water. Hundreds queued for bottled water in places including Cranleigh at the weekend after technical problems at Netley Mill Water Treatment Works. Groups of homes between Cranleigh, Guildford and Horsham woke up on Saturday, August 13, to dry conditions, high temperatures and little or no water pressure. Residents in Cranleigh tell ITV News of their frustration. With supermarket shelves cleared of bottled water, Thames Water set up a station in Cranleigh, where residents queued for hours just to be allowed two 2-litre bottles each. In a statement on Sunday evening, August 14, Thames Water said: “We believe most of our customers now have water, but it is taking longer than expected for all supplies to return to normal. “Our engineers will be working through the night to identify and unblock any air pockets so water can flow throughout the network. “As your supplies come back on, you may initially experience low water pressure, especially if you live higher up. “Your water may flood or look cloudy when it comes back. “This will clear if you run your cold kitchen faucet for a few minutes.” Thousands of people queued for water Credit: Martin Bamford/Surrey Live Postcodes affected were GU5, GU6, RH4, RH5 and RH12, which include Cranleigh and Dorking. The company said the bottled water station at Cranleigh Leisure Centre, will reopen at 8.30am. on Monday, August 15. County councilor Liz Townsend, a Lib Dem who represents Cranleigh and Ewhurst, said: “This cannot go on. Every time we have hot weather now we run out of water locally and it’s just not good enough. “The government needs to control these utilities. There are a lot of vulnerable people who rely on their tap water.” Cllr Liz Townsend, left, helps distribute water Credit: Martin Bamford/Surrey Live Laurence Matthews, a farmer in the Surrey Hills added that opening bottled water stations would not help animals who desperately needed water to drink in the hot weather. He said: “Bottled water is of no use to 300 cattle who in the heat today will burst the fields if they don’t get water soon!” WATCH: ITV’s Mike Pearse confronts Thames Water spokesman over company’s failure to provide adequate water Thames Water’s website explained that the problem was caused by a problem at Netley Mill Water Treatment Works. The news was greeted with anger by many people living in the area, including former England footballer Graeme Le Saux, who responded to the tweet by writing: “Your updates are as useless as you are. “There is no information on where to collect water from. “No mobile support for vulnerable at this time.” Martin Bamford, chairman of Cranleigh Chamber of Commerce, said: “There are a lot of scared, desperate people now because it’s so hot. “Cranleigh has a very unreliable water network and we suffer quite a bit from that. “Burst pipes are almost a weekly occurrence in this village and I think the feeling is that Thames Water has not made the investment over the years in this area and the water supply is simply not up to the task.” Additional water stations later opened at Surrey Hills Business Park west of Dorking and Gomshall Village. More water delivered to Cranleigh Credit: Martin Bamford/Surrey Live Meanwhile, volunteers from Surrey 4×4 Response, an organization of vehicle owners who assist local authorities and emergency services when needed, provided assistance at the Cranleigh site. Thames Water has apologized to affected customers.
