Incident summary and next steps
What happened?
On Thursday 30 May, a Do Not Drink notice was issued to Bramley residents by Thames Water following fuel contamination of water in the GU5 area. The contamination was the result of a historic fuel leak from a local petrol station.
The leak also affected other underground pipework for internet/broadband and telephone lines. This resulted in a disrupted service.
The public health risk assessment determined that the petroleum levels in the water were very low. The fact that residents could smell the petroleum in the water and were therefore less likely to drink it, also reduced potential exposures. This in turn reduced the risk of adverse health effects.
What was the response?
The Surrey Local Resilience Forum quickly initiated Strategic and Tactical Coordination groups. These groups united all partner agencies to manage the collaborative response to the incident. Their combined efforts addressed the following priority areas:
Access to clean water
Thames Water organized daily bottled water deliveries to all 617 properties. A bottled water collection station was also set up. However, this station closed on 10 June and remains on standby following low footfall. Waverley Borough Council put on additional recycling collections for excess water bottles.
Keeping residents up to date
Surrey County Council played a key role in updating residents throughout the incident. We responded quickly to produce an information summary leaflet. This leaflet was delivered to Bramley Library and every resident in the Bramley area with bottled water.
We were also active on social media, using targeting to ensure that the right people got the right information. This included advising road users about congestion in Bramley and the surrounding area due to Thames Water roadworks.
Lastly, we set up a dedicated webpage. Here, affected parties could find all the useful information in one easy-to-access location.
Welfare of vulnerable residents
The Welfare Cell of the Local Resilience Forum coordinated and cross-referenced vulnerable and priority persons lists from all available sources. The people identified as vulnerable were then contacted by telephone. Where people could not be contacted by phone, they were visited in person.
Telephony/Wifi access
Temporary phone masts were set up to boost mobile phone coverage in the area while the issues persist. Two computers have been added to Bramley Community Library for those needing extra internet access. Openreach continue to work closely with their service providers to offer alternative solutions and support vulnerable customers.
Support for schools
Thames Water supplied affected schools with water tanks and ongoing bottled water deliveries. Our School Relationship Team have been in contact with these schools to offer support and advice. Additionally, school transport diverts and alternative bus stops were implemented.
What is the current situation?
The 'Do Not Drink' advice has been lifted for all properties except for St Catherine's School. Thames Water continue to work closely with the school to resolve the issue. However, the complicated pipework means that it is taking time to resolve.
Openreach street works are now in place to facilitate vapour concentration testing. They have also appointed environmental experts to extract vapour and fuel from the network. Once this extraction is complete, they can clean the ducts and rectify any residual damage.
In a recent statement, Openreach advised that it could take at least 12 months to make the network safe and accessible. They will update partners, customers and residents as work progresses.
Thank you to all residents, businesses, and road users for your patience. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated during this complex situation. For future updates, please see the dedicated Waverely Borough Council webpage.
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