Chris Skidmore, right, meeting the chief executive of Bristol Water Luis Garcia, left, and Phil Marshall, director of customer services, centre
Kingswood’s MP Chris Skidmore has met Bristol Water chiefs to discuss the burst water main in Kingswood which flooded several homes and left an estimated 24,000 people without water
Mr Skidmore’s meeting with chief executive Luis Garcia and director of customer services Phil Marshall on Wednesday covered several issues, including insurance claims for the damaged properties in Fisher Road and the welfare of residents affected, the repair of the pipe, and the response of Bristol Water in placing bowsers in the local area.
The MP, who had called for a review to be conducted of last week’s incident, said he was pleased to hear from Bristol Water that not only would the company be reviewing the incident and the provision of water bowsers, but also would be conducting their own survey of local people to discover how the response to a similar incident in the future could be improved.
Mr Skidmore said: “I greatly appreciated Bristol Water’s willingness to meet with me personally so soon after the incident. Having been monitoring the welfare of residents closely in Fisher Road, I have seen first-hand that the company is committed to reimbursing residents fully for the damage and loss to their properties.
The flooding in Fisher Road last Thursday
Picture: Mabel Dew
“We had a very productive discussion over how local sites might be better sourced for the provision of water bowsers in case an incident like this happens in the future, and I got the feeling from the meeting that Bristol Water were determined to ensure that they listen to local people and learn any lessons from this incident.
“I have passed on the concerns of several vulnerable residents who were without water to the company, to ensure that if this ever happens again, they can be flagged up immediately as being at risk. If anyone else has concerns that they would like me to pass on, please do get in touch.”
On behalf of Bristol Water, Mr Marshall said “We are very grateful that Mr Skidmore took the time to give us feedback on how well we have handled this emergency, including providing helpful suggestions on how we might improve our approach to incidents of this nature in the future.
“We would like to reiterate our apologies to everyone who has been inconvenienced, especially the residents of Fisher Road whose properties were affected by flooding. We would also like to thank all the residents and businesses for their patience and understanding, whilst we worked to restore the water supply, and we are very grateful to all of the organisations and agencies which assisted us during this emergency situation.
“Our priority now is to help those residents whose homes were flooded so that they can restore their properties fully and get back home as quickly as possible.”
