'Complex' work to restore water completed after widespread flooding

Properties throughout the Shawlands and Strathbungo areas of the city were left without water overnight Saturday after a water mains burst, causing extensive flooding in some of the main thoroughfares in the region.

Residents uploaded pictures and videos showing widespread flooding on Pollokshaws Road, as well as Cumberland Street, Eglinton Street and Maxwell Drive, as Scottish Water engineers worked around the clock to address the problem. Some shopowners wielded brushes as they attempted to push the surging water out of their premises.

In an update on Sunday, Scottish Water said its emergency teams had been on duty throughout the night to repair the burst on the 27 inch water main, after initial reports of flooding emerged at around 4.30pm on Saturday.

It said the repairs meant around 6,500 customers had their supply restored on Sunday, with a only a “small number” of others still experiencing disruption. However, it said there were “further complications” during ongoing work to excavate the damaged main, meaning repairs were likely to take longer than first expected.

“This is a key asset supplying many thousands of homes in the city and our teams have worked as quickly as possible to restore supply,” the company said in a statement. “By making complex adjustments to our network we were quickly able to isolate and bypass the damaged section to allow the repair to be carried out.

“The vast majority of customers have now had their supply restored and we are making every effort to do the same for a small number of customers who are still experiencing issues.”

“We are acutely aware of how many customers have been inconvenienced and how important it was to restore their supply as quickly as possible.”

Police Scotland said Pollokshaws Road was closed from Albert Drive to Cumberland Street as a result of the disruption, which impacted properties in the G41, G42, G43 and G44 postcode areas.

One householder who was impacted, Ian McKay, said that at the peak of the disruption there was “water everywhere,” but said engineers had been working flat out to restore supplies.

“They have now re-routed water from other parts of the network, so now everybody has at least a low-pressure trickle of water from their tap,” he explained.

Scottish Water said those customers who requested bottled water were being contacted to ensure their supplies are restored. It advised people who experienced discoloured water to run their cold kitchen tap at half pressure until the water runs clear.

It added: “We apologise for any inconvenience caused by this issue and thank affected customers for their patience and understanding while we work to resolve the matter.”

In a separate incident, Scottish Water said it had also identified a burst on a 24 inch strategic water main that was impacting supplies across the Kings Park area of Glasgow and Rutherglen area in South Lanarkshire.