Residents and animal owners are resorting to desperate measures as parts of Conwy runs dry. Coastal residents are scooping water from the sea to flush toilets, many others are rushing to place online orders for bottled water.
Farmers have been left without water for their livestock and pet owners are going thirsty so that their animals can drink. Residents outside the area are inviting people to fill containers in their homes and a football club has opened up this evening so people can shower.
More than 40,000 households, schools, businesses, hospitals and care homes in Conwy are without water after a main at Bryn Cowlyd Water Treatment Works in Dolgarrog, burst. Dŵr Cymru/Welsh Water said the repair is taking “longer than planned” to resolve due to the complexities involved, prompting fears some homes could be without water supplies until Sunday or even Monday.
As the Bryn Cowlyd works services one of the largest networks in Wales, it will take up to 48 hours for the system to re-fill to a sufficient level to restore the supply to customers. In the meantime, Dŵr Cymru is prioritising the delivery of bottled water to vulnerable customers. Bottled water stations are planned for tomorrow (Friday, January 17) but there are reports the company is struggling to source the quantities required. Dŵr Cymru has also advised compensation could be available.
In extraordinary scenes, one man said he’d visited his nearest beach to fill containers with seawater. With six people in his household, it was the only option. “Needs must but people where looking at me like I was crazy,” he said on social media.
The idea prompted others to follow suit. A Conwy woman is thinking of doing likewise, saying: “I wouldn’t even care how I look, in times like this really good idea. I only live five minutes from beach so if I need to go there with buckets I will.”
Some residents were quick off the mark and placed orders for bottled water with Amazon. Those with Prime are expecting deliveries tomorrow or Saturday. Join the North Wales Live WhatsApp community group where you can get the latest stories delivered straight to your phone
Engineers working on Dolgarrog’s burst water main say the repairs are ‘complex’
(Image: Owen Hughes/North Wales Live)
Others have been less fortunate. One woman said: “My son and I have been half a dozen places, to buy bottles, with no luck. He then came up with the bright idea to buy ice cubes! We now have some large bowls of them, defrosting. We were concerned for our pets too.”
Some pet owners have put their animals first. A woman in Colwyn Bay said: “I got some water from shop for our dogs. We can (drink) other stuff but they can’t.” Get live updates on the water crisis here.
Some vulnerable customers have received bottled water from Dŵr Cymru already, and kindly neighbours are helping out others. The current water crisis has shone a light on the goodwill that exists in the communities of Conwy and beyond. On learning that the Tal-y-Cafn pub-hotel and Betws y Coed’s Cadwaladers ice cream shop is offering to fill containers, Aberconwy MS Janet Finch-Saunder said it was an “amazing selfless act!”
Other pubs in the county are offering to fill containers, and so too are residents outside the affected area. Offers have been made by people in Kinmel Bay and even Rhyl in Denbighshire. Addressing “anyone desperate for water”, one Rhyl resident said: “Our water is fine and I’ll happily fill some containers for anyone if they bring them.”
Penmaenmawr Phoenix Football Club has this evening opened its changing rooms to members of the public needing a shower. The facilities are being provided from 6pm to 8.30pm. “This will be supervised by committee members so privacy will not be an issue,” said the club. Bottles can be refilled there too.
Meanwhile, desperate residents are sharing updates online about shops that may have a few bottles of water left. Other suggested ruses include refilling bottles in fast food restaurants. Tongue in cheek, residents lucky enough to have bottled water are being advised to “lock them up” in case they’re “hijacked”.
Concern over the availability of water for livestock has been growing through the day. Natural Resources Wales (NRW) is advising that farmers can abstract up to 20 cubic metres a day from rivers and streams without a permit. However a spokesperson said: “This limit is not per farm so it is best to check your own individual situation with NRW.” There’s guidance here.
Horse owners typically lack abstraction facilities . Writing online, one owner said she was getting desperate – she has I have 13 ponies and cobs, four of which are Royal Welsh champion and prize winners. She said: “I lost one horse during the last fiasco at the weekend,” she said. “We were off for 24 hours.
“Dehydration causes colic in horses quickly. I am worried sick as I can’t even feed them – their feed is mash-based, which requires water and you can’t just change a horse’s feed, it can cause problems again. We have been off more then we been on in last seven days.” Sign up for the North Wales Live newsletter sent twice daily to your inbox
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