Newhey water leak “can’t be fixed without affecting thousands of homes”

Leak Spotters

An “unusual” water leak which has troubled residents since 2013 cannot be fixed without affecting thousands of homes, say United Utilities.

Rochdale Online News readers have come forward to say they have made “numerous” complaints about the problem on Ogden Road, Newhey, where a faulty water supply grid is causing a constant trickle down the road, wasting unknown amounts of water.

Although temporary repair work was done last year, the problem remains, as United Utilities say they would have to cut off a main water supply in order to fix it, affecting “thousands of homes”.

Helen Stott, who lives in the area, said: “I have written to them four times in the last three years. It’s not gushing, it is just a steady flow of water but what matters is the length of time the problem has been going on, and how much water must have been wasted.”

“What makes this all the more annoying is that Piethorne Water Treatment works is about a mile further up this road, meaning United Utilities staff are driving past it every day.

“I have given up writing to them now, it seems that either it’s being ignored or it’s been forgotten about.”

A spokesperson for United Utilities said: “We always aim to repair leaks as quickly as possible but sometimes there are factors that cause delays. This particular leak, while just a trickle, is very unusual in that we have to turn off one of the main water supplies into Oldham in order to fix it.

"We did a temporary repair which worked for a period but now we have to plan a permanent fix very carefully to avoid affecting supplies for thousands of homes.

“We are now aiming to do the work at the same time that the main is isolated for other repair work on the railway bridge on Milnrow Road.

“We have to liaise with Metrolink as part of that job so there is a lot of work going on behind the scenes to make these repairs as seamless as possible for water customers and commuters."