Residents of social housing block hit out at lack of running water

Ted Peskett, local democracy reporter

Residents in a block of flats say they have been living without running water for hours on end every week over the past 10 years.

Caerau Court in Cardiff has had issues with its water pressure for about 20 years, according to one resident, but it has worsened in recent years.

People living there have had to resort to showering in the early hours of the morning, boiling kettles to wash elderly relatives and spending extra on bottled water to cope with the problem.

Wales & West Housing, which manages the flats, said the issue is caused by a reduction in water pressure in the area and it aims to begin work on resolving it this year.

“You won’t get a drop through the tap for 10 or 12 hours through the day,” said one resident, Richard Tobin, about what it is like at Caerau Court over the weekend.

“When it does come on, the pressure is so low that it won’t heat the boiler or the shower. It has just got to a point where it is ridiculous now.”

Stagnant

Wales & West gave residents empty containers they can fill up and use when the water isn’t working, but Richard said many of the people who live at Caerau Court are over the age of 50 and struggle to move them when they’re full.

He also said the water in the containers can go stagnant when left for hours, especially on a warm day.

Richard, 75, believes the water goes out for hours over the weekend because that is when most of the people living at Caerau Court are in.

Recounting one experience, he said: “My uncle died a few years ago and my aunt was living on her own. She was 95 so I had her move in with me… and she was here for about two and a half years.

“She had carers coming… in the morning to help her wash and I’d have to fill three water bottles when I could when there was a supply, maybe stay up until late when we had water and then boil kettles for the carers to wash her in the morning. It was something medieval.

“For me and for the other residents it has become a routine. If I want shower in the week and the weekend… I have to get up about 5am… so that we have got the pressure through the shower to heat the water.”

Discussions

Complaints have been made about the water pressure at Caerau Court for years, but some residents feel their concerns aren’t being listened to.

Wales & West said it has been having discussions with Dwr Cymru/Welsh Water about the problem since 2020.

A Dwr Cymru/Welsh Water spokesperson said: “The pressure in our water network is well above the required operating standard.”

Another resident at Caerau Court, Julia Walsh, said she noticed something wasn’t right with her water when she moved in eight years ago.

Julia, 57, said: “It’s getting a joke now, it really is and it is worse on the weekends.”

The issue goes beyond residents not being able to shower and wash dishes over the weekend.

Julia said her laundry has been ruined in the past and she woke up one Christmas morning without any water.

“It is getting hard work now even trying to cook,” she added.

“It is going back to the dark ages. You just can’t live properly.”

Julia is one of a number of residents at Caerau Court who are having to pay out of their own pockets for crates of bottled water.

She said: “It is costing us a fortune. It could cost… I’d say about £10 a week just to buy bottles of water. That does mount up.”

Martin Newman, 71, is another resident who is regularly spending money on bottled water. This is on top of the £20 a month he says he pays for his water bill.

Martin, who moved into his flat in December 2019, said: “On the weekends the water is really bad.

“[Up until] 8am, that is your lot. You have got to fill water bottles and even milk bottles up with water. It is just a nightmare.

“What we do is go and buy water to make tea, wash with and little things like that.

“This is not fair. My wife is moaning because she can’t do any washing.

“It is breaking our washing machine because there is no water in it and it is going around. It is just not right. We shouldn’t have this problem.”

Frustrating

A Wales & West spokesperson said: “We understand this situation can be frustrating for our residents and are working to resolve it.

“Since 2020 we’ve been having discussions with Welsh Water and have established the cause of the problem as being a reduction in the water pressure in the area.

“As a result, we have had ongoing discussions with our contractors to design a water storage and pump system to solve the issue.

“This is a major investment project, which we aim to start this year.”