United Utilities have apologised to residents
Residents living on a street in south Manchester say it was left looking ‘like a river’ for two days after it was hit by two leaks.
Water is said to have first started running down Lownorth Road in the Woodhouse Park area of Wythenshawe on Friday (September 18).
Locals said it was ‘kerb high’ and rendered the street impassable on foot at one point. A number of people living in the area have told the Manchester Evening News that the situation was ongoing for more than 48 hours.
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United Utilities has now confirmed they attended reports of a leak in the area on Friday, and carried out a repair; however, there was then a ‘secondary leak’ in the same spot on Saturday.
When the M.E.N visited today (Monday), the road surface could be seen covered in mud and silt from where the water had been.
A section of the street remains cordoned off, which has been dug out as part of the repairs, and a pool of standing water is still visible inside the hole.
Roy Maddox, 79, said: “It was terrible. It was like a river. It was going down both sides of the road. You couldn’t get across the road; you had to stay on the pavement.
“The kids couldn’t play out, even though they wanted to. Everyone was just wondering: What the hell is going on?’ It was pouring down.”
A neighbour, who did not want to be named, said he first noticed it on Saturday morning. “The water was kerb high. At first, it was mainly on one side, but then both sides of the road were covered, about the same height.”
“It is not the first time it has happened,” he added. “It was a few years ago, but it has happened before in a similar area.”
Another resident said: “It was really bad. It is the worst one I have seen and was a bit of an ordeal.
“At first, it was a trickle, but then it got worse and worse, and it eventually covered virtually the whole road. It was streaming down faster and faster. I was a bit worried about our cars.
“My grandkids wanted to play in it, but I said ‘absolutely not.’”
Whilst another said the situation ’caused an inconvenience and, more importantly, a safety risk for drivers, pedestrians, and anyone using the road after dark.’
A United Utilities spokesperson said: “Our teams attended reports of a leak on Lownorth Road on Friday evening and completed a repair.
“Unfortunately, a secondary leak occurred on Saturday afternoon, which required further work and was successfully repaired on Sunday afternoon.
“We apologise to customers for the inconvenience caused and thank them for their patience while our teams worked as quickly as possible to complete the necessary repairs.”
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