Leaking mains water pipe suspected as source of pond outside Hemel Hempstead flats

A mains water leak is suspected as the cause of problems which created a small pond on land in front of flats in High Street Green, Hemel Hempstead.

We reported last week that residents’ complaints over persistent water leaks, had been unresolved despite several attempts over a two-year period to fix the problem, read full story here

A spokesman for Affinity Water said the problem has been caused by a series of leaks – ‘some of which were not its responsibility’ – as it couldn’t determine whether the current leak was in its pipes or those of the flat owners.

But a spokesman has now confirmed it believes the problem is attributed to a mains water pipe leak.

An Affinity Water spokesperson said: “Affinity Water teams will be attending to the leak at Eastwood Court flats, High Street Green, in Hemel Hempstead, in the next few days.

"The results of our tests show that there is most probably a leak on the water mains but we will need to conduct exploratory work to confirm this. In order to dig down to reach those mains we will need to co-ordinate with other utility companies, as the water main and the gas main are located near to one-another. Once these talks have been completed we can begin work. We apologise to our customers for any inconvenience caused.”

The pond, which started as a wet patch, developed after a leak sprung on land outside the front of the flats around two years ago, attracting a resident family of plastic ducks.

Debbie Elliott, who lives at the flats, said: “The water board have been out five or six times over the past two years to fix it, unsuccessfully. Not only could they not fix it, but it actually got worse.

“In the meantime my neighbour thought it would be a nice idea to put some yellow plastic ducks on the water and set up a board explaining why they are living there.

Added Debbie. “It’s been an attraction but on a serious note it’s ridiculous that they haven’t been able to mend the leak. The water has been constant, it just doesn’t drain anywhere.

“Hopefully it will now be sorted.”