AS London faces the threat of standpipes and water shortages, This Is Local London exposes the shameful waste of water in the capital.

While Thames Water bosses meet today to decide whether to apply for a drought order restricting non-essential use of water in London, they have allowed a gushing leak to go unfixed for weeks.

The burst pipe in Snaresbrook is pumping out thousands of gallons of water a day.

People living in Eagle Court first reported the burst pipe to Thames Water, which provides water for 8 million people, two weeks ago.

But so far only a rock has been placed over the mini geyser to stop the leak.

The plumber employed to fix it was unable to do so because the water company had not turned off the mains supply.

Plumber Ken Randall said: "I'm waiting to repair the leak, which will probably take me half an hour to fix but Thames Water can't turn the stopcock off because it's broken.

"The water is coming out at about 100 gallons per hour. There's already thousands and thousands of gallons lost.

"The water's under a lot of pressure and I can't fix the leak until it's turned off, they said they were supposed to have done it last week but no one did.

"It's disgusting, we are asked to conserve water but thousands of gallons are just going down the drain."

After the Guardian contacted Thames Water, the residents in Eagle Court told the paper the leak had been fixed.

However the company's press office were unable to locate the leak on their system and/or give the paper a comment.

  • A WOMAN who reported a water leak in Chigwell Road to Thames Water and Redbridge Council six months ago is still waiting for it to be fixed.

And despite being sent a letter by the council six weeks ago stating that by the time they received the letter the problem with water seeping up through the pavement would be fixed, Redbridge Council can find no record of the leak.

Freda Randall, 64, said: "This has been going on since before December.

"The council has been down and said it's the water company's problem, I got in touch with Thames Water who said it's the council's.

"Then we got a letter from the council saying by the time we get this letter the leak will be fixed. That was six weeks ago and still nothing.

"It's been going on for so long and it's not fixed. I think it's disgusting we're told to conserve water and not use a hosepipe and all this water is watering the pavement."

Neither Thames Water nor Redbridge Council were able to access details about the leak despite particulars of Mrs Randall's letter being passed on to the council.

Drought order restrictions could include:

  • Using a sprinkler or hosepipe to water gardens, allotments, parks or sports grounds;
  • Filling swimming pools other than for medical treatment;
  • Running ornamental fountains or cascades, even when the water is recycled;
  • Filling ponds other than fish ponds;
  • Washing vehicles, aircraft or industrial premises other than for hygiene or safety;
  • Washing the exterior of buildings, other than windows;
  • Cleaning windows with a hosepipe or sprinkler.