No running water

Cartel Mike

Hi.
My sister has no water for about 2 weeks now.
She presumed that her water tank had frozen but when the thaw came she still had no water.
I told her that her tank was prob air locked but a plumber yesterday confirmed that no water was getting into the house prob due to a busted underground pipe.
She has recently moved into a small estate and her neighbours have all got running water.
She rang the council and they said that its not their responsibility !
The responsibility they say in this case lies with the developer (its a very new house and the developer has a slightly dodgy business reputation).
The developer said that there is nothing he can do.
Theres another cold snap on the way so can anybody tell me what she can do or what options she has here?

Thanks in advance.

210

Evening Mike, it is possible the pipe into the house might still be frozen as while the snow has melted the ground is still pretty cold especially if the sun isnt getting to it.

Is the house in an elevated spot - the water in some towns like castlefinn and raphoe is off now at night to conserve water and even when it is turned back on again a house in elevated location might experience a delay in the water returning.


If there is a leak in the pipe from the mains into the house it is possible (with the right equiptment) to listen to the stopcock on the road to hear if there is a leak( I know this sounds a bit mad but its true - I swear). I would think if there was a leak here though you would see it - the water would be bubbling up. If the leak is in the garden it is going to be up to the owner to fix. Your local Area water caretaker would have this bit of kit to listen to the valve. If you phone your nearest council office and ask for the water office they will be able to pass a message on. Explain your situation and I would think they will be accomodating. If the site is recently built the developer is still probably responsible for the pipes within the site - but the council will want to know especially if there is a leak in the site & if the builder isnt addressing it. have a drive arround the site and see if you can spot any damp spots on the road that could be leaking. If you spot any pass the details on to your local council water office.

good luck.

Cartel Mike

Local area water caretaker is a good shout mate and i'll take a spin out to her house tomorrow and check the things you said thanks.
I have a suspicion that its in her garden .
The developers are pretty rough and shabby builders (i don't want to name them here) and have ignored previous problems she has had.
The main guy has a habit of changing his number to avoid people contacting him .He does this alot.

I have told her to ring Highland radio 2morrow so that name shaming him might get him to look at it but were talking one thick skinned customer here so i don't know.
I can see this on the radio 2morrow though.

Thanks.

210

No bother mike - it would be funny though that even with a leak in the garden that some of the water at least wouldnt make it up into the house. Again if you get the caretaker he should have a way of testing the water in the garden to see if it is mains water. The Caretaker will also most likely have a contact number for builder.