The cold has finally arrived! We all need to be winter-ready, so find out how we’re preparing to protect our customers and communities from disruption this winter.
We’re keen for our customers to be as prepared as possible for the winter and it’s just the same for us. Behind the scenes, there’s lots of activity going on, as we prepare our people and our sites for the cold weather.
Taking care of our people, so that we can take care of you
The health, safety and welfare of our teams working 24/7 to keep taps and pipes flowing are important, as we want them to be safe and comfortable. This includes providing warm gloves as well as their usual ones, woolly hats, warm fleece jackets, and any other personal protective equipment (PPE) they need to stay warm and safe while they go about their jobs.
Getting out the grit to make our sites safe
We also make sure that our sites are safe places for our people to work on. Everything that presents a possible hazard at all other times can be even more of a problem in cold weather. We grit everywhere to make sure paths and staircases are clear and we make sure there’s enough grit delivered to sites – a tonne or more – to keep things safe through the coming months. We also check that the lighting is working correctly and that the right tools and equipment are available, to make sure all jobs can still be carried out safely.
Planning for the big freeze … and then the thaw that follows
We know that pipes can burst in all weathers for a variety of reasons, but it’s more likely when the ground goes through the long freezing and thawing process. When the ground freezes, it expands, taking up more space than before. The thawing causes the ground to shrink back to its original size – which creates spaces, gaps and voids around our pipes. The pipes naturally move and vibrate in use, so any weakened spots on the pipe are more likely to leak and burst. So, there’s an increase in the management of pipes and the network. We also check that all our generators are working and that we have enough fuel on site to run them.
Managing our resources
We go through our resource plans thoroughly, making sure that we have the right number of people to do the right job at the right time. And that includes managing illness and the fact more people will be on leave through the festive season. We need to be as resilient as we can in cold weather to continue doing everything we do - treating enough water, transporting it to your taps and take away your wastewater - every single day.
Protecting you and your home
You can help avoid a winter emergency at home too.
A little preparation goes a long way. You can save yourself from frozen and burst pipes, plus costly repairs with a few small steps.
Last winter, nearly 5,000 people reported a leak at home, which can cost over £500 to fix!
Also when you go out, if you see anything out of the ordinary, you can report a leak to us.