Water supply chaos set to continue across Enfield for rest of the week

Thames Water still struggling to fix major main that supplies water across a wide part of the borough, reports James Cracknell

Resident Mary Onoufriou was disappointed not to find water at Forty Hall (credit *Enfield Dispatch*)

Several hundred Enfield residents are continuing to suffer water supply problems today (Wednesday 19th) with Thames Water now warning they will continue until the end of the week at least.

The issues began on Sunday (16th) with a major water leak reported in Bramley Road, between Oakwood and Cockfosters, but the situation worsened significantly on Monday (17th) with Thames Water admitting the situation had “become more challenging” to resolve.

While some residents are suffering from low water pressure, others are without any supply whatsoever.

In the latest update this morning, Thames Water says that “a section of the damaged water main needs to be removed and replaced” and that “we are working towards restoring normal service to customers by Friday”.

In the meantime, almost 1,000 households are being told they can collect free bottled water – but there was confusion today after the privately-owned utility firm changed the location of its pick-up station at short notice.

Since Sunday a bottled water station organised by Thames Water has been located at Forty Hall Estate, but when the Dispatch visited at 10am this morning there were only empty bottles to be found, scatted inside a large metal container.

Instead of Forty Hall, Thames Water has created two other bottled water stations, at Tesco in Ponders End High Street and Highlands School in World’s End Lane.

It’s unclear why the Ponders End location has been chosen, however, as the affected postcode areas are all in the west of the borough (N14, N21, EN1 and EN2).

The most impacted areas appear to be around The Ridgeway and Lavender Hill.

Mary Onoufriou, from Roundhedge Way, was one of the residents disappointed not to find any bottled water at Forty Hall this morning. She told the Dispatch: “We just woke up with no water. We live in a block of flats and there are two elderly ladies with no water. I was going to pick some bottles up for them but there’s none left.”

Ajay, from Padstow Road, described his home water supply as “like a bad 90s campsite”.

Another Enfield resident, from Ladysmith Road, said that the water pressure at home was so bad “it would take three years” to fill a single glass.

A Thames Water spokesperson said: “We’re sorry to customers who are experiencing no water or low water pressure following the burst water main in Bramley Road. Dry ground conditions during hot and dry weather can cause movement around buried pipes, increasing the risk of bursts.

“Our teams have been working around the clock to repair the burst and remain on site undertaking repairs and restoring supplies as quickly as possible. We have opened up two bottled water stations for affected customers at Tesco Extra, 288 High Street, Ponders End, Enfield, EN3 4DP and Highlands School, Worlds End Lane, N21 1QQ.

“We know how disruptive it is to be without water and we’d like to thank customers for their patience while we carry out this complex repair.

“We’ve been providing regular updates throughout the incident via our website, including details of repair progress, restoration of supplies and the opening of bottled water stations.”

A Thames Water information page about the leak is being updated regularly:
Visit thameswater.co.uk/network-latest/2026/aug/n14-bramley-road-16082026

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