Are your customers winter ready?

We want to ensure your non-household customers are prepared for winter, as the risk of freezing and bursting pipes significantly increases.

We’ll be doing all we can to ensure there are no disruptions to their supply. Below we’ve detailed the best ways they can protect their businesses during the cold spell.

The Big Thaw

Thank you

We would like to thank you for your patience over the past week as our teams of key workers battled hard to keep water supplies running to you following ‘The Big Thaw’ earlier this week.

As predicted, when the weather warmed up following weeks of sub-zero temperatures, this caused more bursts than usual on our network and on our customers’ pipes.

Even the strongest pipes can burst during these weather conditions as the ground shifts and pipes expand, so our teams put our emergency plans into action.

What we did

• We prepared for the thaw by putting extra teams of our key workers on duty and ensured we had full stocks of fittings and fixtures to respond quickly to bursts, where they occurred.
• Our engineers worked tirelessly during this time and have repaired the same number of bursts in one week than we’d usually fix in a month.
• Our network teams worked 24/7 to monitor and adjust the flow of water to make sure we could get water to where it was needed.
• Ensured our storage reservoirs were at full capacity to help keep supplies running during this time.

Because of the actions we took, we are pleased to tell you that the vast majority of customers in areas where there were bursts, continued to receive a water supply during this very challenging time.

Whilst we still have some work to do, our network is now back to normal following the increase in bursts this week.

What you can do to prepare

The checklist details the actions your business customers can take to help winter-proof their property.

1. Insulate all exposed pipes, water tanks and outbuildings.
2. Fix any dripping taps.
3. Check for any leaks.
4. Locate their internal and external stop taps.
5. Keep the heating on low, if they plan on travelling or shutting down their business for a short time over the Christmas period.
6. Understand your pipe responsibilities and who to contact – find out more.
7. Check to make sure their insurance covers any water damaged related incidents.
8. Put a contingency plan in place in the event of an emergency.
9. Ensure all emergency contact details are up to date.
10. Identify a plumber/groundworker - find an approved plumber.

• Check out our tips to Beat the Chill this winter (PDF 225KB)