Bramley petrol contamination: Information and advice

Thames Water Do Not Drink Water Notice

Thames Water has now lifted their precautionary Do Not Drink advice for residents in the affected 618 properties in Bramley. More information is available on the Thames Water website which is regularly updated.

The Do Not Drink advice will remain in place at Bramley Oak Academy, St Catherine's and Gosden House Schools as further testing will be carried out at these locations. These schools have complex internal piping which is why it is taking longer but the water to homes is safe to drink.

If you have any further questions for Thames Water about this incident you can call Thames Water's 24 hour customer centre on 0800 316 9800 quoting your address and reference number BB647802.

What are the health risks to people in the area?

UKSHA advice is that those in the affected area who have drunk water from the tap are likely to have only been exposed to hydrocarbons at low levels which is unlikely to cause any long term ill effects.

The public health risk assessment is that the detectable level of petroleum products in the water is very low, which means you would be able to smell it in the water and are therefore unlikely to drink it. This reduces potential exposures and the risk of adverse health effects.

If anyone does have any symptoms or health concerns which include irritation to the eyes, nose and throat, cough, a hoarse voice and breathing difficulties, they should speak to their GP or call NHS 111.

What if I need to call 999 in an emergency and don't have any signal?

You can still dial 999 from a mobile phone even if it shows 'no service' or has no signal. Your phone will search for any available network, not just your provider's network, to connect the call.

Roadworks

Thames Water's works to replace the water main at the roundabout at the junction of the A281 Horsham Road, Station Road and Snowdenham Lane are completed and the road is fully open. Public buses are operating normally.

School buses and transport

School coaches are reverting back to their normal timetables from Monday 1 July.

Schools in affected area

The following schools are in the area covered by the Do Not Drink Notice.

• Bramley Oak Academy (formerly known as Wey House School) Horsham Road, Bramley, GU5 0BJ
• Gosden House School, Horsham Road, Guildford GU5 0AH
• St Catherine's School, Station Rd, Bramley, Guildford GU5 0DF

Thames Water has supplied each of the affected schools with water tanks, and bottled water is also being delivered during the duration of the Do Not Drink Water notice, to ensure alternative water sources are available.

We are in regular communication with headteachers at these schools to ensure they are kept informed and have accurate information to share with parents, carers and students.

Openreach update

As at Wednesday 3 July, Telecommunications network provider Openreach has analysed the current impact and, at this moment, the direct impact on local phone and broadband services is limited.

Openreach, along with specialist environmental consultants, Occupational Health and Environmental Services (OHES) (part of Adler and Allan), are now working outside Grange Cottages and near to the Holy Trinity Church, where there are underground access points to it's network.

These points have particularly high petrol contamination, so attempts are being made to reduce the concentrations to levels which are safe enough for engineers to access.

This process is unique and complex, so work needs to proceed with caution and it is unclear how long it will take. Openreach hope to give a clearer indication of its position and further next steps over the coming weeks.

Masts have already been deployed to help with mobile coverage. There is still cellular coverage in the area but masts should help reinforce coverage. Mobile dongles are being issued by providers for additional bandwidth.

Contact details

You can call the Community Helpline for help and information if you have been unable to find the information you need.

• Telephone: 0300 200 1008 (9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, excluding bank holidays)
• Online form: Complete our community helpline enquiry form
• Textphone (via Text Relay): 18001 0300 200 1008
• Telephone from overseas: +44 20 8541 9944 (9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, excluding bank holidays)
• SMS: 07860 053 465

Bramley Community Library internet access available

If required there are two computers in the Bramley Community Library High Street, Bramley, Surrey GU5 0HG where the public can get internet access.

Opening times:

• Tuesday 10am to 12.30pm and 2pm to 4.30pm
• Wednesday 10am to 12.30pm
• Thursday 10am to 12.30 and 2pm to 4.30pm
• Friday 10am to 12.30pm and 2pm to 4.30pm
• Saturday 10am to 12.30pm
• Closed Monday and Sunday

Following the meeting of the Recovery Coordination Group (RCG) today please see below an update of the work in Bramley.

The Technical Working Group has also met this week and were able to report positive progress to the RCG.

Thames Water have confirmed that the do not drink notices has been lifted from Bramley Oak School and further testing is being carried out at Gosden House School. The situation is more complex at St Catherines. We are advised that the restriction of use will be lifted for the Prep School only. The rest of the school remains on an independent tanked supply while further investigation is carried out.

Openreach have advised that in the recent weeks, their focus has been on working in partnership with SCC Highways on the relevant street works permit requirements and are progressing with agreed changes to minimise any disruption to Bramley residents. These revised arrangements and set up will allow them to proceed with further testing and removing petrol vapour from the Openreach underground network, as of next week. At present, testing of vapour concentrations by expert contractors continues to find unsafe levels in their infrastructure in the area serviced by the Bramley Exchange. Given this, no engineering work can be undertaken at present – they are closely monitoring any service impacting faults and engaging with service providers to provide alternative and temporary network arrangements when required. If any residents have any concerns or queries, please feel free to contact bramley-incident@openreach.co.uk

Asda and their consultants are refining their off-site remediation plans with the Environment Agency and are revising their 3D modelling of water table levels and possible extent of contamination on the basis of borehole sampling results.

Waverley BC will be meeting with businesses again on 16 July to further understand the impact on businesses and explore what support might be offered to businesses going forward.

A Public Meeting is being held at the Bramley Village Hall at 6.30pm on Tuesday 16 July.  Representatives from Asda, Thames Water and Openreach will be attending along with representatives from the Environment Agency and Waverley Borough Council. Asda’s Chairman, Lord Rose will chair the meeting and Asda will give a presentation on the work they have been doing and their evolving off-site remediation plans. Thames Water and Openreach will also give an update on progress with the work they have been doing.  

Following the meeting of the Recovery Coordination Group today, please see below an update of the work in Bramley.

There were two other meetings this week. An inaugural meeting of the Business and Economy Recovery Working Group (BERWG) and a meeting of the Technical Recovery Working Group (TRWG).

The BERWG is focussing on the impact on businesses and what can be done to mitigate it and to help businesses recover from that impact and was an opportunity for local businesses to express their concerns etc. The meeting was constructive and moving forward will be looking to establish a business network to represent the interests of businesses going forward. A further meeting is planned, and additional local businesses are being invited.

The TRWG focussed on the development of ‘road maps’ setting out the proposed programmes of work for the different companies involved. 

• Asda and their consultants EPS are developing a detailed off site remediation road map for monitoring levels of groundwater and contamination off site and steps to remediate. They are working closely with the Environment Agency on this. At the same time, they are monitoring levels of groundwater and contamination at their boreholes around the High Street and are continuing the work on site to extract and treat groundwater.   

• Thames Water have completed the water mains replacement and have now lifted the Do Not Drink order for the residential properties. Bottled water distribution to residential properties has ceased and as letters were delivered residents were asked if they had any water they wanted to return. A final extra recycling collection will be made this Saturday to collect any remaining plastic water bottles. They are working with the schools to ensure the complex pipe networks on these sites are flushed completely before considering lifting the DND /order on the schools.

• As of Wednesday 3 July, Telecommunications network provider Openreach has analysed the current impact and, at this moment, the direct impact on local phone and broadband services is limited. Openreach, along with specialist environmental consultants, OHES (part of Adler & Allan), are now working outside Grange Cottages and near to the Holy Trinity Church, where there are underground access points to its network. These points have particularly high petrol contamination, so attempts are being made to reduce the concentrations to levels which are safe enough for engineers to access. This process is unique and complex, so work needs to proceed with caution, and it is unclear how long it will take. Openreach hope to give a clearer indication of its position and further next steps over the coming weeks. Masts have already been deployed to help with mobile coverage. There is still cellular coverage in the area, but masts should help reinforce coverage. Mobile dongles are being issued by providers for additional bandwidth.

• There have been issues this week with traffic management in the High Street because pedestrians were not following the directions to use the pelican crossings and two-way traffic lights had to be re-introduced. Following a site meeting on Thursday alternative arrangements were agreed and are being implemented now which will negate the need for daytime traffic lights. Overnight restrictions will still be needed however whilst Openreach carry out their work, but these should be less disruptive to traffic.

A recurring theme this week has been that more communication is required from all partners with the community and businesses. As part of this a public meeting involving partners has been suggested which we will be looking to take forward. We have also committed to issue this weekly update after the RCG meeting on Fridays. I am also meeting representatives from the Bramley Residents Action Group (BRAG) next week to explore other ways of improving communication and keeping the community informed going forward.

My business needs more bottled water, who do I contact?

Please contact operational.control@thameswater.co.uk

I am experiencing issues with my telecommunications

Please contact your internet producer directly if you are experiencing issues or if you need an additional dongle for short-term access, and they will contact Openreach.

How can I feedback the impact of the incident on my business?

Please feedback via the online form: Bramley contaminated water feedback.

We would recommend you speak to  your insurer.

How do I query my business rates?

If you would like to query your business rates, please approach the valuation office on the matter at Waverley Borough Council - Business rates reliefs and reductions.

What is being done to support the business community?

Waverley Borough Council is chairing a business support recovery group with local stakeholders, who will be working on an action plan for short and longer term activities, including supporting the creation of an informal business network with the parish council. If you would like to be involved please email: business.support@waverley.gov.uk

Your business can also contact Andy Pringle at IncuHive, for free one to one business support, Andy Pringle <andy.pringle@incuhive.co.uk>