South West Water has apologised after hundreds of homes were left without water yesterday following a main’s burst near St Agnes.

A burst water main left many properties in the Truro, Redruth, Illogan and Pool areas without water on Tuesday morning (July 23) all day.

Many customers reported getting no water, just a dribble or discoloured water with some complaining it took them seven hours to get through to the company by phone to report an issue and being denied access to the website.

“There was a seven hour wait yesterday to get through by phone and the website access denied,” posted one customer. “Our water is brown this morning-and we weren’t part of the issue yesterday.”

South West Water said engineers were working hard at site near St Agnes to repair the burst main and apologised for the inconvenience this has caused.

They advised that when people’s water was restored people may experience discolouration, and should run their tap until the discolouration clears. It advised that customers that they can claim a run-off allowance if they have to run their taps to rid the water of the discolouration.

“South West Water would like to apologise to customers who have experienced lower water pressure or a loss of water supply today,” the statement said.

“You may find that your water is discoloured, but please don’t be alarmed. The brown or yellow appearance is caused by the disturbance of natural sediments that can build up over time within the main. These are generally associated with metals such as iron and manganese and whilst not harmful, due to its appearance South West Water do not recommend that you drink it.

“If you notice discolouration, please run the water from your cold kitchen tap until it clears. This could take up to an hour, but you could claim a run off allowance to re-pay you for any water lost.”

You can find out more about discoloured water, and how to claim a run off allowance, here: https://www.southwestwater.co.uk/.../discoloured-water South West Water said it would like to thank customers for their “patience and understanding”.

Yesterday (Tuesday) Coastline Housing said in a post on Facebook: “We’ve been made aware that there is a problem with a burst water main in Cornwall this morning, meaning that some properties around Truro, Redruth, Illogan, Pool and further afield are currently without water.

“This is an issue that South West Water is working quickly to rectify and we will update you with any further information on here as and when we have it.”