‘Terror and anxiety’: Councillors and residents tear into Thames Water bosses over flooding in Islington

The Sobell Centre needed repairs after the summer flood. Photograph: Julia Gregory

Water bosses have defended their progress in fixing problems in Islington after they were put on the spot by councillors fed up by the damage caused by a major leak this summer.

One businessman affected by this summer’s deluge, caused by a burst main at the junction of Tollington Road and Hornsey Road, said: “It’s like a ghost town on Hornsey Road, we don’t know when its going to be back to normal. We want to know what Thames Water is doing to make sure it’s not happening again.”

He wanted assurances that water staff are working to prevent similar problems.

Thames Water is working on schemes including relining 2.1km of the worst pipework in Seven Sisters Road and Queens Drive after the 125-year-old main burst there in 2019.

Thames Water put up 13 residents in hotels and is also working to put right damage at eight businesses after a 36-inch water main burst in Tollington Road.

Simon Moore, Thames Water’s head of water system planning for London, said: “We need to be working with the community, residents and stakeholders to try to build that trust.”

He told Islington’s policy and performance scrutiny committee that a third of Islington’s water network has been upgraded since 2020 – “by London standards, a significant proportion”.

Thames has installed 5,032 smart meters since 2015 in Islington and has more in the pipeline. Moore said it repairs an average of 226 mains bursts per year and a further 234 bursts on the ‘communication pipes’ to customers’ properties and 53 repairs to customers’ own
pipework.

He said the company is replacing mains at several hotspots in Islington and plans more, with 6.8km of mains replacement nearing completion and another 2.5km due in the next two years.

Detailed designs for the Pentonville Road trunk mains are due later this year.

However councillors and residents spoke of the problems people are already experiencing.

Cllr Bashir Ibrahim, whose Arsenal ward includes areas affected by the latest flood, called on Thames Water to invest more of its profits into the prevention of leaks.

He described helping to rescue a housebound resident when the main burst six weeks ago.

“If you see the impact on residents, you would be as exercised as I am.”

He added: “We need to make sure the best cure is prevention. Invest in your infrastructure.

“I’m scared I’m going to see Tollington Road happen again because you can’t tell us what happened.”

Moore said: “We are hugely empathetic about it.”

Another resident in Offord Road in Barnsbury said she’s been affected by three floods in three years and said the struggle to get damage made good has left her “broken”.

She said: “We know the drill, the fire brigade bangs on your door at 5am, you wake your neighbours and get planks of wood.”

She said she was away from her home for two months after one of the floods and talked about her frustration in getting work done to put the damage right.

Moore said: “It is absolutely unacceptable the experience that you’ve had.”

He pledged that work will be done to prevent anyone else experiencing the same problems.

Barnsbury Road councillor Praful Nargund said: “The only expectation residents have is that it’s going to happen again.”

He said: “We’re talking about a level of terror and anxiety from residents who have lived through this.”

One resident told him she feared every time it rains. “It rains a lot in England. I want you to understand the human impact.”

He called for Thames Water to really look at the problems in Offord Road.

Moore said the groundwater this year was “unprecedented” and there was also ground movement caused by dry conditions too.

The flood caused damage to some homes and businesses, including to the fixtures and fittings at the Broccoli cafe, and flooded the gym area at the council-run Sobell leisure centre nearby.

Moore said the water company is working on technology to find out the conditions of pipes and is investing £4.5m into ground-breaking machines to scan pipes.

Peter Baker from Holloway Road has been flooded several times in the last six years. He called for investigation into solutions as water is pushing manhole covers up when there is heavy rain, causing serious damage.

Thames Water bosses said they would pick up the concerns.

Jeremy Corbyn, Islington North MP, said: “The effects of the flood were horrendous. This was a wholly predictable flood.”

He asked why the 36-inch main that burst on Isledon Road was replaced after an earlier flood but not the one on Tollington Road.

He said heavy traffic and ground drying out in the heatwave suggested it was bound to burst.

He said Thames Water is “simply not investing enough” and fears “a loss of life”.

Moore said: “This is an issue that affects all of us.”

He said there was an issue about spending money in the infrastructure nationally and added “how important it is for us to get it right”.

Martin Padley, Thames Water’s director of water, said it was crucial to get investment right and how “mortified” he was to hear residents’ experiences.

He said: “We are truly sorry.”

He said climate change is also causing “very rapid changes”.

Cllr Una O’Halloran said: “We were promised investment.”

She said there were 14 meetings after the flood in Angel in 2016 and asked what the company has learnt since then.

Committee chair Jenny Kay said “people are really broken”.

She asked Thames Water to come back with updates on what happened at Hornsey and Tollington Road and the problems at Holloway and Offord roads.