Businesses in the Dartmoor village of Chagford have been counting the cost after a burst water main forced them to shut for two days, leaving hundreds of properties without running water. Closure notices appeared on the doors of pubs, cafés and food shops throughout Sunday and Monday, with more than 900 homes and businesses affected. The outage, first reported at around 5.30am on Sunday, persisted until Monday afternoon, disrupting trade and daily life across the village.
Historic pub forced to cancel bookings
Simon Court, who runs the historic Three Crowns pub, said he was unable to serve food and drink without running water, so closed to non-residents and cancelled bookings. "We are trying to accommodate the staying residents," he said on Monday. "Some of them are walkers who are doing the Two Moors Way and have got no way of going anywhere else."
Mr Court added: "We spent yesterday afternoon phoning and cancelling quite a few people who were due to check in as we didn't know when the water was coming back on. We also had bookings for lunch and evening meals that had to be cancelled. It's had a major effect on our turnover for yesterday and today." He had been in touch with South West Water, who were fully aware of the impact on his business. "Unfortunately this sort of thing happens, the great thing about Chagford is that everyone just pulls together. It's a case of 'we have got to deal with it, let's get on with it'."
Businesses criticise communication
Chris Mount of Blacks Delicatessen, who was forced to shut his shop, said he was confident that South West Water had done everything within its power to repair the burst water main as swiftly as possible, yet he described the firm's communication as "atrocious". "The emails they do send out are very vague and give no indication of time. Just a guideline would be useful like 'it's tricky, it won't be on for 24 hours' but there's nothing."
Some businesses, such as the Fat Mouse dairy, managed to cope by bringing in water from elsewhere and brewing cups of tea when the coffee machine was unusable. Manager Sue Rogers said: "You can't get a coffee anywhere in the village because we need the water supply for the machines but we have been busy with teas. We have had a lot of custom today because unfortunately lots of places have had to close."
Water bottles sell out quickly
The Spar shop reported selling out of its 140 large bottles of water within two and a half hours on Sunday morning, with no further delivery expected until Tuesday. A bottled water station was established at Chagford Primary School on Sunday, with South West Water confirming this would remain in place until supplies had been fully restored to all residents and businesses. Vulnerable residents received doorstep deliveries of bottled water.
Repair completed but boil water notice remains
By Monday afternoon, the water company confirmed the repair had been completed successfully. "However, as the water network recharges and refills, it may take some time for water supplies to fully return to homes and businesses," said SWW. "Customers may not see their water supply restored immediately, and we ask for continued patience while the system recovers."
As a precaution, a Boil Water Notice is in place while the company completes water quality checks following the complex repair. Customers are advised to continue boiling tap water before using it for drinking, food preparation, brushing teeth, or any other consumption purposes. South West Water said: "We understand this may cause inconvenience and want to reassure you that our teams are working hard to restore normal service as quickly as possible. We will continue to provide regular updates and contact affected customers directly as new information becomes available."
