ONE OF Reading’s two MPs has called on Thames Water to ensure east Reading residents are compensated for the loss of water earlier this year.
For four days in January, homes across the town saw water pressures drop away, leaving some homes without anything coming out of their taps.
The problem was caused by issues at the treatment works in Pangbourne, and made worse by a water leak at the junction of Eastern Avenue with Wokingham Road.
Matt Rodda says he has been contacted by constituents who had been affected by the problems.
He says comments received included one home where the kitchen cold water tap and the shower stopped working. Another home was unable to flush the toilet.
Others complained about Thames Water’s lack of contact and flow of information.
Another told Mr Rodda: “I made a formal complaint and got fobbed off – they failed vulnerable local people.”
As a result, the Labour MP wrote to Chris Weston, the CEO of Thames Water.
In it, he wrote: “It is Thames Water’s policy to compensate residents who experience more than 12 hours of interruptions to their water supply.
“I would be grateful if you could investigate whether compensation is being paid to all residents who went without a reliable water supply on January 20-22, and whether efforts were made to inform all residents about the water distribution station at Napier Road Tesco.”
He told Reading Today: “I am calling on Thames Water to honour its commitment to offer residents compensation after these serious problems.
“The water company should act quickly to provide the compensation residents deserve.
“I hope it will now review its services to ensure this does not happen again.”
Mr Rodda says he welcomes more comments from Newtown residents affected by the outage, and has set up a survey, which can be completed at: www.mattroddamp.com/newtownwater
