BBC News School Report @ LCS

People had to rely on bottled water provided by companies.

Members of the public were left outraged to find out that their homes would have absolutely no running water for an unknown period of time (water was unavailable in most places in England from Saturday 3rd March - Tuesday 6th March). Companies tried their hardest to please by giving out bottled water but customers were still not satisfied with what they’d been provided leading to a lot of hate towards these water companies stirring up on Twitter.

Jo Marshall (a resident in London) shared her story: ‘So 60 plus hours without water, we are doing our best to conserve it. Bottled water for boiling pasta, cleaning teeth & washing hands etc. is being saved & being poured straight down the toilet’.

Cam also had something to say: ‘There’s no water in north London and Thames water is handing out bottles like it’s a 3rd world country’.

So 6 plus hours without water, we are doing our best to conserve it. Bottled water for boiling pasta, cleaning teeth and washing hands etc. it is being saved and being poured straight down the toilet.

Jo Marshall @jomarshall2

The nation has recently been a victim to Storm Emma bringing the most snow ever seen in 40 years. However, the effects of Storm Emma were definitely far more severe than just having a snowball fight or making a snowman as parts of London, Kent, Sussex and Wales were all without water. Not only this but parts of the midlands, South-West England, Scotland, Birmingham, the West Midlands and Staffordshire were also affected with water pressure being considerably lowered.

All of this chaos was due to the cold as it created cracks and splits in the pipes, exposing the water as the pipes thawed; this all ended with the water mains bursting.

For over 96 hours, 13,000 households had no water in Kent and Sussex, 5,000 in Wales and 5,000 more were cut off in London. There were lots of posts on Twitter regarding this matter and many people were very displeased of the performance of certain water companies. Their main issue was the fact that the companies showed no sympathy towards their current situation and how difficult living was. The main companies that the public were targeting were: Severn Trent, Welsh Water, Southern Water and Thames Water. MPs called for a public inquiry and have offered compensation to those affected.

The water shortage didn’t just affect households, it also had a major impact on car firm Jaguar Land Rover and chocolate maker Cadbury, forcing them to both reduce production to the bare minimum. Even London Mayor Sadiq Khan criticised the companies after thousands had no water in London forcing schools to close on Monday.

There’s no water in north London and Thames water is handing out bottles like it’s a 3rd world country

cam @BFooli

Severn Trent have apologised on their Twitter saying: ‘Our teams are still working hard to fix as any leaks as possible following the rapid thaw we’ve experienced. If your water is affected, we’re really sort and we’re doing everything we can to fix the leaks and get things back to normal as quickly as possible’.