Hartlepool Water would like to remind customers across the town that we continue to give a 24-hours a day, seven days a week service, despite the coldest weather for decades.
Water services are continuing as normal and the high quality of drinking water is not affected in any way.
We are prioritising leaks, repairing those that pose the greatest risk to public safety first, but we still need customers to continue to tell us when they spot a leak. Our freephone leakage line number is 0800 028 4816. We are seeing an increase in burst water mains during the freeze averaging about 3 per day.
We are also asking customers to be patient as we work to repair the leaks and as we work with our Contractors to backfill excavations. There are some delays in backfilling due to the extreme ground conditions and ice cover.
However, we are keeping a very close eye on the weather forecast and when the thaw happens, predicted to be around 16 January, we are expecting an increase in the number of burst water mains as the ground moves as it gets warmer. In December 2008 and January 2009, the last really cold snap in the region, there were significant increases in bursts on previous months.
We’d also like to remind customers to make sure that they take precautions themselves to prevent their pipes freezing, such as wrapping any pipes, water tanks and cisterns with insulation.