Leak that went unrepaired for 3 months sees woman's bill double

Gallons of water poured out of the South Croydon property for months before an eventual fix was made by Thames Water

A South Croydon resident says a persistent leak left water “running like a river” down her road for more than three months, causing damage to property and a rise in monthly bills.

Samantha Nelson said the issue went unresolved for more than three and a half months despite being regularly reported to Thames Water. The leak stemmed from a cracked pipe connected to her address at 29 Normanton Road, a Victorian building housing five flats. While it’s now been determined that it’s coming from a private address, and is the responsibility of the homeowner to address, Samantha said the delays and frustrating communications meant it took months to determine that and be fixed.

“Water was bubbling, gurgling and running into the kerb down the street,” Samantha said. She described the scale as severe, adding: “There were literally gallons of water pouring across the pavement each day.”

Thames Water confirmed that a leak was identified during visits to the property in November 2025 and January 2026. However, Samantha says the situation was allowed to worsen during that period, with a fix only carried out as a gesture of goodwill by contractor M Group on March 18 — the same day the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) visited.

The flow of water emerged at the bottom of the drive, near the water meters, before flowing down the hill. During our visit, one resident passing by told the LDRS: “It has been leaking badly for months.”

Samantha said the constant flow caused visible structural damage to the driveway over time. She said: “It’s getting under the drive edge. It’s sinking.”

She said the situation has also taken a personal toll on her over the past few months. “It’s been stressful — I was waking up thinking about it,” she said.

Samantha insists the leak is not hers or any other residents’ responsibility, maintaining that it originates from the pavement rather than private land. However Thames Water disagrees and said it originated from one of the flats, though it’s repaired it anyway to stop the loss of water.

Samantha told the LDRS that communicating with the water company about the leak had been difficult and time-consuming. She said: “They always seem to ask you which department — I don’t know who to speak to, as it’s always a different person.

“When I got in touch recently, they said they had given me the fix date of March 18, but with the situation as bad as it was I thought, ‘can’t you come earlier?’ It was just more delay as hundreds of gallons of water continued to pour out onto the street.”

The leak was eventually repaired on March 18 and traced to a broken lead pipe linked to one of the flats. Samantha said the flat’s owner had also reported the issue to Thames Water earlier this year.

Contractor M Group replaced the damaged section with a polypropylene pipe and filled the hole in the driveway with tarmac. During the visit, workers told the LDRS that delays to the investigations and repairs were due to high demand for repair teams.

While the repair has stopped the flow, Samantha believes the prolonged leak has led to an unwarranted surge in her water bills. She told the LDRS she was “shocked” to receive a letter in April last year stating that her monthly payments would increase from £7 to £55.

She added that her most recent bill now puts the figure at £103 a month.

Samantha does not drink tap water in her flat, preferring bottled water. She also said that her washing machine has not worked for two years. Despite her limited water usage, she was told her monthly water consumption was equivalent to 100,000 cups of tea, 333 showers or 313 baths. “Am I making tea for the whole of Croydon?” she asked.

“You can’t just slap on a price when I’m not using more water,” she added. “This is completely fictional.”

A Thames Water spokesperson said: “We worked with the property owner to help get this fixed, and the repair was completed on March 18. While we understand customers’ frustrations, this leak was on private property and therefore the homeowner’s responsibility to repair.”

They added that the work was carried out as a goodwill gesture and that repairs to the driveway could not be undertaken, as this falls under Croydon Council’s remit.

On the billing concerns, Thames Water said: “We apologise for the difficulties Ms Nelson has experienced with her water bill, which was due to a customer-side leak causing high meter readings.”

They added: “We are now applying a leak allowance to her account and will be carrying out a goodwill review to support the customer.”

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