It took nearly two hours for people to get to the front of the queue in a scene reminiscent of the Covid days when we waited patiently outside in a long single file to buy groceries from our supermarkets.

But this queue was people wanting bottled water as household supplies were cut off, we are told, due to a Stonewood contractor at The Uplands fracturing the mains pipeline.

Tuesday morning, September 3, began with a dog walker noticing his puppy gleefully jumping about in a big puddle which quickly turned into a fast-running stream on the west side of Nailsea.

This in turn became a torrent and hundreds of homes were suddenly without drinking water.

Pubs, clubs, shops and beauty salons were all affected and had to close.

Social media was awash with tales of woe and residents were urged to look out for neighbours in need.

A Bristol Water tanker arrived at Scotch Horn Leisure Centre in the early evening of Tuesday while others on the ‘elderly and vulnerable’ register got deliveries to their doorstep.

Bristol Water updates were posted online some a little understated.

One said: "Our teams are working hard to fix a burst water main which was caused by third-party damage.

"The burst has caused some customers in the area to run out of water.”

By Wednesday a full 24hrs later and the drama was beginning to subside except for those living at Netherton Grange whose homes and gardens were flooded.

We are told businesses can claim for lost business, people on water meters can claim a ‘flushing allowance’ at a guesstimate it will be all of 71p by logging on here:

https://www.bristolwater.co.uk/flushing-allowance-form  and those with a medical condition or disability are urged to register for Priority Services by calling 0345 702 3797. 

At 7.30pm on Tuesday, September 3, Bristol Water had begun to turn the taps back on.

It said: "Our teams have now refilled the reservoir and have recovered the water systems, so we have started to get water back to customers.”

However, it came with a warning: “As your water starts to return you may notice it coming out looking a yellow or brown colour. If this happens, please run your cold tap, closest to the mains coming into your property, for up to 30 minutes and until the water runs clear. Please do not run further taps in your property as this could cause issues/damage.”

For more information about discoloured water go to:

https://www.bristolwater.co.uk/faq-individual-0

North Somerset areas affected include Nailsea, Clevedon, Wraxall, Claverham, Portishead, Clapton in Gordano, Weston in Gordano, Portbury, and Yatton.

Stonewood group services director Gavin Calthrop said: "I can confirm there was an incident at our Elm Grove site on Tuesday which did lead to widespread disruption to the water supply in the area.

"It is unclear at this stage what the exact cause of the incident was but, as you would expect, we are conducting an urgent investigation.

"The site team responded very quickly along with Bristol Water and neighbouring developers to contain the situation as effectively as possible and repair the pipe that was affected.

"Our priority now is to work closely with those people who we know have been directly affected."​

• It was bad enough that people in the Silver Street area have been without a BT  landline for weeks but when the water supply got cut off for thousands of homes in the Nailsea this was an even bigger disaster as they couldn’t call for help. Vivian Parsons said: “A lot of people in Nailsea have been without the use of their landline for the past four weeks, including me. It was only after pestering BT I found out that there is a major fault at the Nailsea exchange. The date for repairing this fault is being moved on week by week and it is now the beginning of September. I notice from social media a lot of people do not know why their phones are not working or where to find information about the reason (it wasn't easy, I can confirm). To my knowledge this problem affects people all over Nailsea and an explanation from BT would be welcome.”​ The latest date given to fix phones for 845 customers is 8am on Thursday, September 12. This information was given to customers 24hrs after we asked what was going on. Nailsea People has had 'no official reply' from BT to press inquiries, about the landlines or another outstanding ask about the red telephone box outside the Tithe Barn. The privatised company as Openreach is also a broadband provider.