Burst water main in Borehamwood leaves Brook Road closed until Sunday
12:40pm Thursday 9th February 2012 in Where I Live By Bruce Thain
A burst water main lead to a road being closed in both directions and caused substantial damage to the pavement and road.
An 18-inch main burst at the corner of Brook Road and Fairway Avenue, in Borehamwood, just after 3.15pm yesterday, with the road likely to be closed untill Sunday.
Police closed the Brook Road to traffic as water flowed down from the junction with Fairway Avenue to Broughinge Road.
Sue Bennett, manager of the Fairbrook Medical Centre, in Fairway Avenue, said: “It was quite a shock I have to say. I’ve never seen anything like it before or it happen so quickly.
“I could hear the sound of water and I just thought it was rain at first, but when we looked outside all we could see was a river.”
She added there were no issues with water at the surgery which remained open as normal.
She said: “We’ve called all patients and warned them about the road closing. It’s a bit annoying in terms of access for patients but that can’t be helped.”
St Teresa’s Primary School is opposite from where the water main burst onto the road just as parents were picking up their children from school.
Headteacher of the school Michael Lyons said: “It was quite dramatic, but the school is open as normal and we haven’t had any issues.
“The only problem was that we were about to start out PTA meeting when it happened and we did have an issue with getting cars in and out of the gate, but that was all sorted.”
Parents were informed of the flood and the possible slippery conditions just after the incident yesterday and this morning.
In a statement, Veolia Water said: “We would like to apologise for the inconvenience caused by a burst water main yesterday afternoon.”
The company said Brook Road would remain closed with a diversion in place until Sunday while repairs are carried out, and despite the burst main no customers have experienced any loss of water supply.
