United Utilities asked customers in parts of Bolton to boil their water yesterday, following what were described as “complications” on the local water network.

Approximately 18,000 customers were without water since around midnight on Sunday. Customers at  around 15,000 properties where supply has now been restored were asked to boil the water before using it for drinking and food preparation as a precaution.

The remaining 2,300 homes are expected to have their water restored by mid to late morning today.

The issue stemmed from a technical fault at the water company’s Sweetloves water treatment works which meant that the water could not be disinfected as normal. Engineers have been working round the clock to fix the situation.

To address the problem United Utilities made changes to the water supply network so that some parts of Bolton were getting their water from a different treatment plant at Wayoh.

 ‘Water on Wheels’ tankers – giant lorry tankers - have also been deployed to pump water into pipes in the area and top up supplies.  The measures helped to reduce the number of homes affected.

The company says it will reimburse people who have bought bottled water and it will be considering compensation for those affected.

United Utilities water network manager Paul Forshaw said:

"There are hundreds of miles of pipework in Bolton and large water storage tanks which all have to be refilled before supplies reach all our customers. We have refilled the system slowly to avoid causing any burst pipes or causing discoloured water, and this has taken some time.”