Thousands of properties across south London and Surrey remain without water or are experiencing low pressure after a major water main burst.

The burst in West Molesey, Surrey, caused widespread disruption on Monday, 28 September, affecting an estimated 15,000 properties at its peak.

Thames Water said engineers had managed to reduce the number still affected to around 6,000 properties, but warned repairs were likely to “take some time” to complete.

Schools and nurseries have also been forced to close because of the loss of water supplies.

Postcodes affected by water outage

Customers across a large area of south-west London and Surrey have reported disruption.

The affected postcode areas include:

CR4, KT1, KT2, KT3, KT5, KT6, KT7, KT8, KT10, KT12, SM4, SW16, SW17, SW18, SW19, SW20, TW10 and TW16.

Some customers have completely lost their water supply while others are experiencing reduced pressure.

Thames Water said supplies were beginning to return in Surbiton, although pressure could initially remain lower than normal.

Schools forced to close

The disruption has also affected schools across the area.

Esher Sixth Form College in Thames Ditton closed because of the supply problems.

Holy Cross School in New Malden also announced it would close for the day because of the local water supply issue.

Thames Ditton Infant School and Long Ditton Infant and Nursery School were also reported to have closed.

Thames Water says repairs will take time

Thames Water said engineers were making progress repairing the burst in Molesey but warned the work was unlikely to be completed quickly.

A spokesperson said:

“Our engineers are making progress on repairing the burst in Molesey but it is likely to take some time to complete.

“We are rerouting water in the area to reduce the impact on customers while we work to fix the burst. Customers in Surbiton should be seeing their supply return although the pressure may be lower than usual.”

The company said water was being delivered directly to customers registered on its Priority Services Register.

Bottled water stations were also due to be opened for affected residents.

Thames Water added:

“We believe up to 15,000 properties were affected this morning and that has now been reduced to 6,000.

“We again would like to say sorry to our customers and reassure those who are still affected that we are working to restore their water supply as quickly as possible.”

Calls for answers over major disruption

Esher and Walton MP Monica Harding called for an urgent response from Thames Water to restore supplies and protect vulnerable residents.

She said the immediate priority was getting water flowing again before establishing exactly what had caused the incident.

Thames Water says major supply interruptions can require a coordinated emergency response and that alternative supplies, including bottled-water stations, can be provided when disruption continues.

Engineers remain at the scene while efforts continue to restore normal supplies across the affected parts of London and Surrey.