Nursling Street residents label water leak a 'disgrace'

Water has been leaking onto Nursling Street since Tuesday, May 14.

Residents have labelled the leak a “disgrace”, urging Southern Water to address the issue to avoid any more waste.

Sand was seen on the spot of the leak a week later and a spokesperson for Southern Water said an inspector had attended and the repair will require planning.

Water leak on Nursling Street, Southampton (Image: NQ, Jose Ramos)

Resident Richard Smith, 77 said: “I went into the hairdressers and spoke to them [last] Tuesday who said to me the issue had been happening for some days.

“Someone from the Co-op said that someone had gone out but it didn’t fix the issue completely.

“The water has been coming out of there and just goes down the road.”

The 77-year-old called the water company but found it frustrating how long it took to speak to a person.

Water on the road on Nursling Street (Image: NQ, Jose Ramos)

He said: “I called them and when you phone anyone up you can’t get to anyone to speak to. They tell you that you can go online and after a while, you end up giving up.”

The retired maintenance worker added: “I am 77 and at school there were no computers. Why can’t people actually pick up the phone?

“I spoke to one of them over the phone who told me at first they didn’t know about the leak but then they found it on their system.

"If they had just come out and seen it for themselves they would see it has caused cars to drive over the water and spray all over the road.”

Another neighbour, retired merchant seaman Derek Draper, 73 said: “It’s a lot of water being wasted, especially when we’re getting our bills increased.

“It’s a disgrace. They’re wasting so much water and no one seems to be doing anything about it."

He added: "The thing is, they let these things happen and then impose a water pipe ban in the summer when it’s too hot. Well, stop wasting this water and then you’ll have enough.”

When asked what he would say to the water company he added: “I would tell them to come off their backsides and come here.”

Sand on the spot of the water leak on Tuesday (Image: Newsquest, Ross Marshall)

On Tuesday this week, sand was seen covering the spot of the leak.

A spokesperson for Southern Water said: “The inspector has visited the site and confirmed that there is a leaking stop tap. However, this is not a straightforward repair, so planning will be required.”