A burst on a major water main left hundreds of Thames Water customers without water over the weekend.
The problem saw large parts of Dartford, in Kent, together with hundreds of homes in Greenwich, Bexley and Crayford, without water as the result of the burst and Crayford High Street and Retail Park under water.
The water company started work to fix the burst 12-inchwide pipe in Crayford Road, which runs inside a bridge above the railway line, on Tuesday afternoon.
Flooding in a car park left a number of vehicles crushed when blocks at the base of the car park swelled as they were lifted up by flood water – which reportedly rose by as much as 6ft.
Transport for London reported long queues across south-east London caused by the flooding, with London Fire Brigade sending fire crews to help as Thames Water worked to solve the issue.
The water company made supplies of bottled water available for affected customers in some areas.
Customers took to Twitter to comment on the problem, while local online news station www.kentonline.co.uk attributed the problems to “botched repair work” by Thames Water to the original mains burst which then caused a second burst on a joining pipe.
Thames Water senior operations manager Danny Leamon told Kentonline:
“This is an extremely difficult repair, due to the location and depth of the pipe, and we are very frustrated to have suffered this major setback.”
“The second burst and flooding is now under control and water pressure should be returning to normal for customers.”
"We’re really sorry for this added disruption our work is causing, and are doing everything possible to get things back to normal as quickly as possible.”
With the UK government demanding a 50% reduction in storm overflow spills by 2029, the era of reactive management is over. Speaking in the House of Commons on 21 July 2025, then environment secretary Steve Reed said, “This Government will cut water companies’ sewage pollution in half by the end of the decade.”
ERG, the leading supplier of odour control systems and industrial gas cleaning & thermal systems, has been awarded the coveted King’s Award for Enterprise.
Welsh Water’s new artificial intelligence-driven tool, ORAI, has been shortlisted for three categories at the prestigious British Data Awards 2026 – underscoring the company’s commitment to using cutting-edge technology to deliver better outcome for customers.
Barhale has completed work on two separate Rapid Action Taskforce Spills projects it is carrying out for Severn Trent.
Hear how Scottish Water has completed its £235 million Ayrshire Glasgow Resilience Project - customers across Greater Glasgow, Ayrshire and East Renfrewshire will now benefit from a more secure and resilient water supply.
Hear how United Utilities is accelerating its investment to reduce spills from storm overflows across the Northwest.
Find out more about the remarkable career opportunities on offer at WSP - scroll down to watch the inspirational video.