Thames Water accused of ‘corporate irresponsibility’ after Canning Town floods

Thames Water has been accused of “corporate irresponsibility" after hundreds of residents in Canning Town were affected by flooding and power cuts.

Homes and businesses were impacted after Hallsville Quarter, in Newham, east London, was flooded and suffered power outages last month.

Newham mayor Rokshana Fiaz spoke out after people who were forced to evacuate due to a power outage in October suffered a second bout of flooding just weeks later.

“Thames Water is notorious in terms of its leaky pipes, and notorious in relation to its bungled up maintenance programme that has led to a significant increase in water being lost in this day and age,” she said.

“It is right we draw our attention to the corporate irresponsibility of Thames Water.”

Councillors have now heard Thames Water caused damage to a water main during a separate project, which resulted in the second round of flooding.

Hundreds of residents living in Hallsville Quarter in Canning Town woke up in pitch blackness last month after a burst pipe flooded a basement.

The flooding was caused by a third party pouring concrete into a nearby sewer line, Thames Water confirmed at the time.

At a council meeting on Monday (November 21), it was revealed excavators damaged the main while working on a new connection for a development, causing the area to flood again.

Canning Town councillor Alan Griffiths said: “There was a second flood in Hallsville Quarter after most residents had come back due to a burst pipe a little further down Rathbone Street.

“It impacted the water supply for a while leading to that street being completely flooded.”

And he asked: “Can the council confirm if Thames Water has told us what the cause of this is and how do we make sure our residents continue to have faith that as a council we do everything in our power on their behalf?”

Ms Fiaz responded: “Thames Water are currently working on a new water connection for a development in Hallsville Quarter – they have informed the council that while excavators carry out this connection, they damaged the water main prior to installing the connection.”

Thames Water has previously said that the first flooding incident at the development complex was caused by a third party pouring concrete into a sewer line, the BBC said.

It comes after several scandals involving Thames Water, which currently has the worst record on leaks out of all nine water companies in the UK.

The firm is one of five companies under investigation by water regulator Ofwat due to "serious concerns" over the management of wastewater treatment.

LondonWorld has contacted Thames Water for comment.