No compensation from Anglian Water after Dereham outage

The incident happened on Sunday, May 24 and involved a burst main and flooding on Girling Road in Dereham.

Many homes were left with no running water or low pressure as temperatures soared over 30C.

Water supply was restored on May 26 after multiple repairs, but frustration remained around wait times as well as the delivery of bottled water to vulnerable people and care homes.

Mark Thurston, the chief executive of Anglian Water (Image: Anglian Water)

Mark Thurston, chief executive of Anglian Water, had previously issued an apology and admitted a catalogue of blunders.

But in a follow-up e-mail that was shared online, he added that payments under the Guaranteed Standards Scheme (GSS) are "subject to specific eligibility criteria".

Mr Thurston said: "Our records indicate that the customers concerned were not without a water supply for more than 12 consecutive hours and, as such, did not meet the qualifying criteria for compensation under the scheme.

"In addition, bottled water payments under GSS only apply where no alternative supply is provided after the qualifying period.

"We understand that this will be disappointing for residents who incurred additional costs during the incident, and we do not underestimate the impact this event had on those affected".

Anglian Water said customers did not meet the qualifying criteria for compensation (Image: Newsquest)

Mr Thurston said that bottled water deliveries were arranged through Water Direct, with priority given to customers registered on Anglian Water's Priority Services Register (PSR) and to care homes.

However, he acknowledged the decision was made to cancel deployment before all deliveries had been completed as supplies were being restored.

Mr Thurston admitted that customer communications "should have been updated to reflect this change" and this caused "confusion and disappointment".

He added: "This has been identified as a lesson learned from the incident.

"We are also undertaking a review with our operational teams and Water Direct to understand why bottled water deliveries fell significantly below the level that would normally be expected during an event of this nature".

Councillor Alison Webb described the response as 'disappointing' (Image: Breckland)

Cllr Alison Webb, who represents Dereham North and Scarning at Norfolk County Council, described the decision as "disappointing".

She added: "I am now working on a further response from myself in which I will be challenging his position not to pay our residents compensation.

"I am angry that his reasoning, in my opinion, is incorrect".

THE E-MAIL SENT OUT IN FULL:

Dear Cllr Webb

Thank you for your email and for sharing the concerns raised by residents. We appreciate how difficult and frustrating this incident was for those affected and we are sorry for the disruption caused.

Due to data protection, we are unable to discuss individual customer circumstances, however, I can provide some information about the incident and the support that was put in place.

This event involved a combination of a burst water main and a subsequent pump failure. The situation was particularly complex, with supplies being restored and then lost again as demand increased on the Bank Holiday Monday.

The repair was further complicated when the main burst again during the recharge process, extending the duration of the work.

As part of our response, bottled water deliveries were arranged through our delivery partner, Water Direct, with priority given to customers registered on our Priority Services Register (PSR) and to care homes.

However, as supplies were restored, the decision was made to cancel the bottled water deployment before all deliveries had been completed.

We recognise that our customer communications should have been updated to reflect this change and accept that this caused confusion and disappointment. This has been identified as a lesson learned from the incident.

We are also undertaking a review with our operational teams and Water Direct to understand why bottled water deliveries fell significantly below the level that would normally be expected during an event of this nature.

We have reviewed the concerns raised regarding customers with medical needs and young children. Of the customers whose details have been shared, only one was registered on our Priority Services Register prior to the incident.

That customer was contacted twice during the event, on 24th May at 14:04 and 25th May at 13:12, via our automated dialler service and they were advised to contact us directly if urgent assistance was required.

Our records show that no request for additional assistance was received.

We would encourage customers who may require additional support during future interruptions, particularly those with medical needs or vulnerabilities, to register for our Priority Services so that we can provide targeted assistance during planned and unplanned outages.

In relation to compensation, payments under the Guaranteed Standards Scheme (GSS) are subject to specific eligibility criteria.

Our records indicate that the customers concerned were not without a water supply for more than 12 consecutive hours and, as such, did not meet the qualifying criteria for compensation under the scheme.

In addition, bottled water payments under GSS only apply where no alternative supply is provided after the qualifying period.

We understand that this will be disappointing for residents who incurred additional costs during the incident, and we do not underestimate the impact this event had on those affected.

Thank you again for bringing these concerns to our attention. We remain committed to learning from this incident and improving both our communications and our emergency response processes.

Kind regards.

Mark Thurston.