A second major water incident in less than a week hit Wimbledon after a burst main flooded part of a busy South London road, causing significant disruption. The leak on Kingston Road near South Wimbledon station forced Thames Water to close the road to westbound traffic between the junction with South Wimbledon and Brisbane Avenue while repairs were carried out.
Back-to-back incidents
The latest incident came just days after thousands of homes across South London and Surrey were left without water following a separate burst main near a reservoir in East Molesey. Wimbledon MP Paul Kohler said the two incidents highlighted the poor state of the region's water infrastructure.
Speaking to media, he said: "The past few days have provided more evidence our water infrastructure is at breaking point. On Monday, it was a burst water main in West Molesey that left 15,000 homes, including many in Wimbledon, Morden, New Malden and Raynes Park, with little or no water. Now it is a burst main in South Wimbledon that has caused massive disruption on the Kingston Road."
Repair works and impact
Repair works continued throughout the week, with Thames Water's traffic management permit due to remain in place until October 6. Merton Council said the Kingston Road burst was unrelated to an earlier incident near Island Barn Reservoir, despite both occurring on the same day.
The East Molesey burst disrupted supplies to around 15,000 properties across Surrey and parts of South London. Some businesses and schools were forced to close, while residents reported being left without running water for extended periods. Although Thames Water said supplies had now stabilised, the back-to-back incidents have renewed criticism of the company's performance.
Political criticism and response
Earlier this week, Sutton and Cheam MP Luke Taylor accused Thames Water of failing to tackle persistent leaks across its network. He said: "Every day Thames Water loses 228 Olympic-sized swimming pools' worth of water through leaks. We are numb to the appalling failure of Thames Water to fix our creaking infrastructure. Enough is enough."
Both Liberal Democrat MPs have called for Thames Water to be placed into special administration so it can be run "in the interests of the public". A Thames Water spokesperson said: "We are sorry for the disruption while we repair a leaking mains pipe. It is a busy location and the safety of our team and road-users is paramount while we carry out this repair as quickly as possible."
The company said prolonged dry weather had placed additional pressure on buried water mains, increasing the likelihood of leaks and bursts, and added that it had replaced more than 100km of ageing pipes since April last year as part of a wider network upgrade programme.
