People in London and the south east of the UK have been urged to use as little water as possible after severe weather conditions led to burst pipes across the country.

Temperatures in the UK are on the rise — set to hit 11 degrees Celsius today — after freezing temperatures last week led to heavy snowfall and freezing pipes.

Go deeper with GlobalData

Data Insights

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

Airports around the country are beginning to reopen while train routes are resuming, thought some have warned travellers to expect reduced or altered timetables.

However, weather warnings for snow and ice are still in place across Ireland until midday today.

The problems are caused by pipes damaged by frozen water in the low temperatures that then thaw, resulting in huge water spills.

The thaw could also cause ground movement that would further damage infrastructure.

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

In a joint statement on Sunday evening four water companies said they were experiencing “exceptionally high levels of demand”.

Thames Water said 12,000 homes in the capital and around the south east were without water and distribution sites have been set up for customers to collect bottled water.

A spokesperson for the company said:

Please do not use water for anything that isn’t essential. Following the recent freeze we, along with other water companies across London and south east England are experiencing very high levels of demand for water due to multiple bursts and leaks in [or] on customer properties.

So we are all asking asking all our customers who have water, to use as little as possible while things get back to normal.

Not all areas are affected equally, but significant numbers of customers are currently without water or have low pressure.