Thames Water burst main leaves thousands without supply across London and Surrey
A large burst water main in West Molesey has cut supplies or reduced pressure to around 6,000 homes across 18 postcodes in south London and Surrey, with Thames Water warning repairs could take some time.
Thousands of homes across south London and Surrey have been left without water or with low pressure after a large burst water main, Thames Water has confirmed. The company said the incident is affecting around 6,000 properties, with supplies disrupted across 18 postcodes in the capital and neighbouring Surrey.
The burst occurred in West Molesey, Surrey, where a specialist team was deployed to stop water flooding from the broken pipe. Thames Water said the repair operation could take some time, leaving residents facing an extended outage as engineers work to isolate and fix the damaged main.
The affected area spans five London boroughs, according to reports, with homes across 14 London postcodes among those experiencing no water or reduced pressure. The disruption has also prompted school closures in the affected parts of the capital, adding to the practical impact on families and local services.
Thames Water has published a full list of the postcodes hit by the outage, advising residents to check whether their property is included. The company has not yet provided a definitive timeline for when supplies will be fully restored, saying only that the burst could take some time to repair.
The incident is the latest in a series of supply failures to affect Thames Water customers, and it raises fresh questions about the resilience of ageing water infrastructure across London and the south-east. Burst mains of this kind can be caused by ground movement, corrosion, or pressure changes, though the company has not yet confirmed the specific cause of this rupture.
For households in the affected postcodes, the immediate concern is access to water for drinking, cooking, and sanitation. Thames Water typically responds to major outages by distributing bottled water at collection points and prioritising vulnerable customers, although the company has not yet detailed the full support measures in place for this incident.
Local schools have been forced to close where supplies have been cut, disrupting lessons and childcare arrangements. The closures underline how quickly a single infrastructure failure can ripple through public services, particularly in dense urban areas where schools, care homes, and businesses all depend on a continuous supply.
Thames Water serves around 15 million customers across London and the Thames Valley, making it the largest water and sewerage company in the UK. Its network includes thousands of miles of pipes, many of them decades old, and the company has faced repeated criticism over leakage rates and its handling of outages in recent years.
The company said its specialist team was on site and working to stop the water flooding from the broken pipe in West Molesey. Repairing a large main typically involves excavating the damaged section, isolating the flow, and restoring the pipe before supplies can be brought back gradually to avoid further pressure-related failures.
Residents in the affected postcodes are being advised to monitor Thames Water's updates for information on restoration times and any bottled water distribution. The company has acknowledged the disruption and said it understands the impact on customers, while cautioning that the repair will not be completed immediately.
As engineers continue work at the site, the focus remains on restoring supply to the thousands of homes cut off across south London and Surrey. Further updates on the repair timeline and the full extent of the outage are expected as Thames Water assesses the damage to the main.
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