Everton water supply in crisis as residents stockpile supplies and showers are mere 'dribble'

Villagers claim that since July their water supply has become seriously unreliable, with many blaming the old pipe network and new homes in Potton that have been added to the system.

Reports of school, work and home life being disrupted have become "common", with the problems exacerbated by the heatwave.

However, Anglian Water told the Chronicle that its £2.6m investment to upgrade the water mains - which is currently underway - will help "improve resilience" and reduce the risk of burst mains.

Councillor Les Alexander, vice chair of Everton Parish Council, said: "The [Anglian Water] people on the ground are trying their hardest to get this sorted, but it should have been replaced years ago.

"Adults and children are affected - you can't get bathed or showered; it's not unusual in Everton to wake up and find that at best you've got a dribble.

"We have got elderly and vulnerable people in the village that need to shower and clean up in the mornings. It's certainly impacted them.

"We also have a few businesses in the village, and a lovely village pub, which have been disrupted by supply issues. The school even had to close on several occasions because there was no water!"

Cllr Alexander informed that Chronicle that when demand increases in Potton, water supply is affected in Everton first, because it's at the highest point in the Potton water tower area.

He also claimed that Anglian Water does not have enough tankers for emergencies.

Central Bedfordshire Councillor, Adam Zerny, of Potton ward, said: “We’ve been pushing Anglian for a number of years on this. While the company agreed to update the pipes, this is not moving quick enough for my liking.

"It is wrong that Anglian is paying a shareholder dividend of £90million this year while the residents of Everton suffer without water.”

Central Bedfordshire Councillor, Tracey Wye, of Potton ward, added: “Everton has borne the brunt of our antiquated water network which has seen hundreds of new houses added to it in Potton.

“That, added to the fact we often get burst water mains and problems with pumping equipment, leaves Everton literally high and dry.

“The mains upgrade is long overdue and I hope Anglian Water has engineered a future-proof solution to this serious issue as part of this work.”

An Anglian Water spokesperson said: “The extremely dry ground conditions mean that we are seeing more leaks and burst pipes than normal.

"This is not unusual and we plan for it whenever we get any type of extreme weather, because it places additional pressure on our network – dry, hot, wet – it doesn’t matter. Our teams are prepared and working to keep supplies flowing for our customers.

“In Everton, our teams are already in the process of delivering a £2.6m investment to replace 5.2km of water mains which help to improve water resilience and reduce the risk of burst mains in the area.

"We’re also working overnight and using tankers to prevent any risk of disruption to residents while we carry out this work. The scheme will be completed by the end of 2022.”