Wednesbury flood aftermath: What do we know as families demand answers after burst water pipe

This weekend’s flooding was the second in six years that Leabrook Road in Wednesbury and surrounding streets were flooded due to a broken water main.

Thousands of homes were left without water overnight and weak, discolored water returned this morning. The flooding caused power outages in more than 700 homes for several hours.

Wednesbury Sons of Rest offered water and shelter on Saturday evening. The Leebrook Road church, which was forced to close for years after previous floods, has been damaged again.

Leebrook Road resident Matthew Fisher said: “It was terrible. And this is not the first time a water main has broken in 2018. Our power went out and we are still living on bottled water.

“The water came up to our door and we have a shed at the back that was flooded. I feel for the church, it took years for it to reopen after the last flood.”

Water tanks were stationed at the site from 10.30pm on Saturday evening to allow people to collect water, which will be provided in water bags. Water must be boiled before drinking or used for cooking.

Roads began to slowly reopen this afternoon and the Black Country route also opened.

South Staffordshire Water Repairs issued an update this afternoon, confirming a second water main has broken in Tipton.

The company said: “Repairs to the emergency main at Lybrook Road, Wednesbury are ongoing. A separate main has burst in Dick Sheppard Avenue, Tipton and we are supporting customers there. When explosions occur, we use the rest of our network to support the area of ​​impact, which can have side effects.

“Dick Sheppard Avenue. “We are still working hard to get this fixed and while that is a priority, it is also important to clarify that this is a much smaller issue than the mainline break at Leebrook Road and should also be addressed sooner.”

Wednesbury resident Alexia Patropoulos demanded answers from the water company in X, earlier on Twitter she said: “Can someone please give us an update. The water comes and goes, but the pressure is always low. Considering that we also suffered yesterday, that is, almost two days without water. water. I thought this would be easier to fix. So why hasn’t this been done yet?

West Midlands Fire Service issued an update saying: “WMFS crews were on the scene of flooding in the Lybrook Road area until the early hours of this morning. Fire department personnel also assisted in distributing water from Gallagher Retail Park.

“The scene was handed over to South Staffs Water (SSW) at 2am with water levels having dropped significantly. SSW worked through the night to repair the broken water main. It has now been confirmed that water has been restored to all customers.

“Customers may notice a change in color and should open taps until the water runs clear. Discolored water should NOT be drunk or used in food preparation.”

Tipton and Wednesbury MP Antonia Banse thanked all the volunteers who helped residents and vowed to hold South Staffordshire Water to account.

She said: “I want to thank all the volunteers, councillors, my staff and all the frontline workers who responded, including police, firefighters and engineers, for stepping up and going beyond where South Staffs Water failed us.

“We are proud to be Sandwell and the response from our community has been incredible. We are told that South Staff Water is delivering water directly to all affected vulnerable residents. We will be asking for more information.”

She added: “I will make sure questions are asked and I will meet with ministers tomorrow to make sure we hold South Staffs Water accountable for their response.”