Thames Water are reporting this morning that the 24 inch water main that burst at Heyford Hill on Tuesday afternoon has been repaired in the early hours of Thursday morning. Work will now be required to re-pressurise the system, presumably to ensure any further weaknesses in the pipework are not exposed. Water supply is expected to be normal or near normal this evening (Thursday 6 October).

Aside from the traffic disruption on the Eastern Bypass, the disruption to care delivery across 10 postcodes has been significant. Although Thames Water and news outlets continue to report that 300 homes have been affected, OACP has found out that within the ten postcodes affected there are over 100,000 households with at least one usual resident. We think it's likely that more than 3000 homes have been affected, including those with vulnerable and elderly people.

OACP has clarified with Thames Water that the bottle banks providing free bottled water are still open from around 9 am to 10 pm each day at three current outlets:

Thames Water are looking to open up a fourth in the Thame area shortly, which shows the large geographical impact of this single leak.

Along with other utility companies, Thames Water offer a 'Priority Service' for vulnerable customers. This includes when water is cut off, bottled water is delivered straight to the person's doorstep.

Are your clients and service users signed up?

Check and sign them up here - you may need their water account customer number.

OACP is a membership organisation that works with local, regional and national partners.

If you are interested about what OACP Membership can provide for you, please contact us.

Now available for all Oxfordshire care providers.

Spectrum is a well-established buying consortium with an emphasis on the Care Sector including care homes, domiciliary care and supported living. They have been sourcing discounts with major suppliers for their members since 1992.