Standing up for our community matters

BACK in April, a major burst water main in Plymouth left thousands of households and businesses across our city without access to running water.

- Fred Thomas MP

People were left without any water for days; the most vulnerable in our community were left feeling anxious and worried about how they would get water; and schools and business were shut - the impact was incredibly significant for many folks in my patch.

From the moment I first heard about the outage, my priority was simple: to ensure that residents were supported, protected, and informed.

I immediately contacted South West Water (SWW) to demand clarity on the situation. What caused the failure? How long would it take to resolve? And, most importantly what were they doing to support those affected?

Unfortunately, the response from SWW simply wasn’t good enough.

Residents told me they felt ignored and left in the dark, and many customers on SWW’s Priority Register had not had water delivered to their homes.

This means that the most vulnerable residents, such as those with disabilities, who couldn’t go and collect water themselves were left without any water at all for a prolonged period.