Compensation calls as Severn Trent sends out bottled water

Dave Knapper
·7-min read
-Credit: (Image: Reach Publishing Services Limited)
-Credit: (Image: Reach Publishing Services Limited)


Villagers have been sent bottles of water as supply issues continue to blight their neighbourhood. Now community leaders say households around Brown Edge should receive compensation over the ongoing water problems in the area.

Fed-up families say there have been ongoing problems since August where their water supply has either gone off or pressure has plummeted. Such were the issues this month that Severn Trent dished out bottles of water in the village.

StokeonTrentLive has previously reported how the water supplier has regularly been issuing an 'area event' for neighbourhoods including Brown Edge, Endon, Norton, Brindley Ford and Packmoor. But community leaders in Brown Edge say the issue has been causing major problems - and are pushing for compensation for households.

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Severn Trent has previously said 'it’s down to issues with the power supply at one of our sites that helps pump water around your area'. Bosses have assured families they are looking for a long-term fix.

Community leaders in the Moorlands are pushing for a solution around Brown Edge.

Councillor Joe Porter, who represents Endon and Brown Edge on Staffordshire Moorlands District Council, said: "Many local residents across Brown Edge and Endon have been hit by constant water supply issues for too long. This has had a detrimental impact on St Anne’s CE Primary School, vulnerable people with medical conditions, and local businesses.

Joe Porter, Conservative candidate for Brown Edge and Endon
Councillor Joe Porter

"Our community deserves a much better service and I’ve been working closely with our local MP Karen Bradley and the Chief Executive and teams at Severn Trent to keep up the pressure for them to resolve the ongoing issues as a top priority.

"On behalf of our community, I wrote directly to the Chief Executive to make a complaint about the poor level of service and to ask them to escalate the situation. Since then, Severn Trent have worked behind the scenes to resolve the issues and I'm now pushing for them to provide the compensation local residents and businesses deserve after all the disruption. Fingers crossed the ongoing issues are resolved as soon as possible."

While calls have gone up for compensation in Brown Edge, residents around Norton and Packmoor have said they have suffered regular interruptions to their water supply since August.

David Williams, MP for Stoke-on-Trent and Kidsgrove, said: "I have written to Severn Trent and asked them to rapidly investigate and resolve these issues once and for all. The issues have been raised with me by constituents around the Norton and Packmoor areas. It is simply not good enough to expect my constituents to go without running water and to subject so many to an inconsistent service. Water bills have gone up considerably, yet too many people are not receiving the service they pay for.

MP David Williams
MP David Williams

"Nonetheless, it is positive to see this new Labour Government's action to clean up our waters and put people first. This Government is committed to holding water companies to account and ensuring they deliver for both customers and the environment. As an immediate step, we are strengthening regulation to reverse the unacceptable destruction of our waterways and attract private-sector investment to upgrade our crumbling infrastructure. I will continue to press for further improvements that make a difference to local people."

Severn Trent says the water bottles were dished out in Brown Edge 'as a precaution'. A spokesperson said: “We’re sorry to anyone who’s been affected by the booster issues in the area. We’re continuing to work on a long-term solution and this weekend completed work at the site that has reinforced the power supply, to help prevent further problems. Purely as a precaution as this work was going, we delivered bottled water to those customers who have been most impacted.

“We want to assure everyone that we’re absolutely committed to fixing this quickly and will be exploring how we can thank the community and those who have been affected for their patience.”

The ongoing issues also come at a time where it's been revealed that Severn Trent has nearly tripled profits in the first half of its financial year - while also missing a regulatory target on water quality risk compliance. However bosses have said there are plans to invest between £1.3 billion and £1.5 billion on improving its network of pipes, drains and sewers over this financial year.

Elsewhere and this has proved a challenging week for Severn Trent's engineers. The plummeting temperatures and wintry weather has seen water pipes burst on Burslem's Wegdwood Street and Moorland Road - with both routes having to be shut off to allow repairs to take place.

Engineers are currently on Moorland Road in Burslem -Credit:StokeSentinel
Engineers are currently on Moorland Road in Burslem -Credit:StokeSentinel

The closures have resulted in the A53 being even busier as motorists look for alternative routes. Sneyd Green councillor Laura Carter said: "When I drove through Burslem last night (November 21) work was progressing on the burst water main. Hats off to the workmen who worked none stop to find the source but I think the roads may remain closed for some time.

"This will impact traffic along Leek New Rd this morning with drivers finding alternative routes to get where they need to go. "

Seven Trent on supply issues in North Staffordshire

"We want to tell you what we’ve found, how we’re working to fix it, and what you can do in the meantime if your water supply is impacted. Some people in your area have had intermittent problems with the water supply recently, such as lower than usual pressure, no water at all or discolouration. It’s down to issues with the power supply at one of our sites that helps pump water around your area. We know this must be frustrating, and we want to assure you that we’re working hard on a long-term solution."

What has happened?

"We use equipment called ‘boosters’ to help us with the water supply in your area. When there’s a problem with the power supply, this causes those boosters to trip and means they’re unable to pump the water around the network to where it needs to go."

What Severn Trent is doing about it

"We’re working with the electricity provider and they are in the area with us helping to identify the problem. At the same time, we’re doing our own work on site to make its power supply more resilient. Please be assured that your water supply is a priority to us and we have teams working on this right now. We’re working on a long-term solution so you and your neighbours get the water supply you deserve, as soon as possible."

What to do if water is cloudy or discoloured

"Sometimes when there’s a change or work on the network, air can become trapped in the pipes which can cause the water to appear cloudy, or milky. This is nothing to worry about and happens because of tiny air bubbles that will clear on their own as it finds a way out of the network again."

Our priority is to get it fixed'

"We totally get how frustrating it is to have any interruption to the water supply – no matter how brief. We also appreciate this has happened more than once for some of you, so we’re doing everything we can to find the cause, and what we can do to prevent it happening again. Our priority right now is to get this fixed, and we’ll find a way to support your local community to show how much we appreciate your patience."

Sampling done over illness reports

StokeonTrentLive had asked the water supplier over some residents in the Norton area reporting feeling unwell. However Severn Trent has confirmed it had 'four customer contacts around potential illness' and 'all sampling is satisfactory indicating no link to the water supply.' A spokesperson added: "We understand that some customers have experienced intermittent problems to their water supply recently, and we’re very sorry about this. The problems are being caused by a power supply issue to our boosters that pump water around the area. We know that any interruption to the water, no matter how brief, is frustrating and we’re working to fully identify the problem with the electricity provider. We’re also continuing our work on site as a priority to find a long-term solution and appreciate everyone’s patience as we do this. We’d like to also reassure everyone our teams have been sampling and monitoring the area, and all our samples and water quality testing have returned as we’d expect.”

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