Special Dispatch investigation finds 130 unfixed leaks in the borough, reports James Cracknell
New analysis by the Dispatch has found 130 reported leaks across Enfield that remain unfixed by Thames Water – despite the utility company being alerted to some of them as long as 18 months ago.
Amid ongoing anger locally over a series of major leaks this summer that took out supplies to thousands of families for several days – and even saw operations postponed at Chase Farm Hospital – the Dispatch trawled through public records to reveal the full breadth of the water issues affecting the borough.
Thames Water provides a map on its website where customers can search for leaks in their area using their postcode, with details provided on how long each leak has been ongoing and whether the repair is underway or not.
Last month, the Dispatch undertook an extensive search to collate records for all leaks in the borough that remained unfixed, as of the second week of September. This research revealed that out of 130 local leaks in total, there were 26 across Enfield that had been reported in 2025 but had yet to be fixed, with ten of these still not fully investigated. Repairs were said to be either “underway” or “planned” for the remaining 16 leaks reported last year.
Out of the 130 total, 91 leaks had either not been investigated by Thames Water at all or were still listed as “under investigation”, meaning the extent of the repair needed was unknown. Repairs were said to be “underway” on just 14 leaks.
The longest-leaking pipe was located in Slades Close, World’s End, where an issue was first reported on 16th January 2025. Thames Water stated that it would “review this as soon as possible”.
Other long-running leaks included one ongoing since 26th March 2025 outside a dry cleaners in Hertford Road, Enfield Wash, where Thames Water said it was “now planning the repair”. The same claim was made for a leak in Lincoln Road, Ponders End, that had been ongoing since 8th April 2025.
In addition, as of September there were nine unfixed pipe blockages across Enfield, with work said to be “underway” to unblock just one of them. Of these, one blockage was first reported more than six months ago, on 19th March, and remains under investigation.
These findings followed two major leaks in the borough that both caused chaos for days on end.
In August, Chase Farm Hospital was forced to cancel routine operations as water supplies to 4,500 properties were impacted by a burst main in Bramley Road, which took Thames Water five days to fix. The company’s handling of that incident was criticised by Enfield North MP Feryal Clark, who described it as “appalling”.
There followed another major leak in early September, in Enfield Road. This leak also lasted five days, as Thames Water struggled to even locate it. Supplies at Chase Farm were again impacted.
Both major leaks in August and September came towards the end of a prolonged period of hot and dry weather. The Bramley Road leak was attributed by Thames Water to “dry ground” causing cracks to the water main. The company apologised for the disruption and said it wished to “sincerely thank everyone affected for their patience”.
Nationalisation debate
Southgate and Wood Green MP Bambos Charalambous has called on Thames Water to be nationalised “either permanently or initially through a special administration”, writing to Environment Secretary Angela Eagle and describing the privately-owned utility company’s recent record as “particularly concerning”.
Both Charalambous and Clark addressed a parliamentary debate last month, prompted by 208,000 people signing a petition calling for a referendum on nationalising the water industry.
Clark told the Westminster Hall debate: “When a failure in our water infrastructure can disrupt NHS treatment, we are no longer talking simply about poor customer service. We are talking about critical national infrastructure.
“What made this incident [in August] particularly unacceptable was not simply that a pipe burst. Infrastructure can fail, we all know that. It was what happened afterwards.
“My constituents faced conflicting information about whether their water would return. They struggled to contact Thames Water. Bottled water stations were placed in places that were extremely difficult for elderly and disabled residents to reach without a car. When I raised the issue with Thames Water, their response was extraordinary. They said ‘it’s not uncommon for us to set up bottled water stations in London areas without considering residents without a vehicle’.”
The Labour MP added: “That experience inevitably raises a much bigger question: who is our water industry ultimately being run for?”
Thames Water is owned by a consortium including a Chinese sovereign wealth fund and a Canadian pension fund. According to campaign group We Own It, the firm has paid a total of £10.4billion in shareholder dividends since privatisation in 1989, while debts now reach £14.7bn. It also points out 28% of bill revenue from customers is spent on servicing debt.
At last month’s debate, Charalambous said: “The current model for our water service is not working for customers and has not been working for quite some time. My constituents have watched their bills rise again and again while Thames Water falls further into debt and water bosses are rewarded with huge bonuses, despite failing to invest in critical infrastructure and allowing more sewage pollution.”
At the Labour Party Conference last week, Prime Minister Andy Burnham said his government would repeal Margaret Thatcher’s “ideological ban on public ownership of water companies” and said this would put the UK on a ten-year path to a “very different water system”. However, there was still no commitment to full renationalisation, with water companies instead likely to be dealt with on a individual basis.
Addressing MPs at the end of the Westminster Hall debate, water minister Emma Hardy said: “It’s horrific we have ended up in this situation, but I am delighted to [soon] bring forward a water bill that meets the political moment and appetite for change, and very delighted that we are closer to that with the change in prime minister, opening up options that were previously not available.
“Suddenly, more things are on the table.”
But Hardy also did not commit to nationalisation. She continued: “We are working through things right now, across government, to bring forward a bill that meets that appetite for change.”
Thames Water loses around 570 million litres of water per day, but the company claims to have reduced leaks by 15% since 2019. The company has also twice been prosecuted by Enfield Council since 2024 over unauthorised roadworks, paying more than £70,000 over multiple rule breaches.
In August 2025 the Dispatch also reported on a leak in Windmill Hill that led to the road – used by six bus routes – being closed for nine consecutive days. Thames Water didn’t even begin its repair until a week after it was first reported.
Council leader and London Assembly member Alessandro Georgiou – an admirer of Thatcher, who led the 1980s sell-off of UK utilities – raised Thames Water’s performance at Mayor’s Question Time last month.
The Conservative addressed Sir Sadiq Khan and said: “I don’t want to go too hard and undermine my capitalist credentials on this […] but do you agree local authorities need to use all the powers they have to absolutely penalise Thames Water when they take the mickey with roadworks, tearing them up, not doing the work, and we’re still getting burst mains afterwards?”
The London mayor responded: “He must have selective amnesia […] it was Thatcher who took powers away from councils and privatised Thames Water.”
Asked to comment on the 130 unfixed leaks across Enfield, Thames Water did not respond.
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