WORK to repair a faulty water main which burst twice and flooded homes has nearly finished.

Essex and Suffolk Water has spent £325,000 on the major project along Broadmayne, Basildon, after properties were flooded in December 2014 and in May this year.

Engineers are inserting a new water main into the existing old iron pipes, which have struggled to cope with the amount of water flowing through them in recent years.

Dan Davis, planning and schedule manager at Essex and Suffolk Water, said the repair is a high priority.

He added: “The mains in Broadmayne are part of a strategic network that runs from the Hanningfield Reservoir to Basildon, and it affects a lot of people.

“This meant we moved the job and it became a priority. The work is costing £325,000, which is a major part of our national budget of between £7million and £10million each year for pipe renewal.

“The technique we are using to install the new pipe is known as slip lining, and involves sliding the new plastic pipe into the old pipe.

“We have a high-powered winch that will pull the pipe through the new pipe which has a cone attached to it and a chain leading to the winch which goes through the old pipe.

“This is the best way to do this for a number of reasons. It is cheaper in terms of labour and can be less intrusive and causes less damage to the land, and less disruption.” Basildon Council gave the water company permission at short notice to carry out the urgent work.

Mr Davis added: “We are lucky in this area as we have another water main that serves the residents, which runs close alongside this main.

“This means that when the work is being carried out there is no disruption or loss of water to nearby properties.”

Twelve homes in Broadmayne and nearby Honeypot Lane were badly damaged after the latest burst.

Residents woke up to the sound of water gushing into their homes, leaving furniture and carpets ruined.

Residents’ relief as threat of more misery recedes RESIDENTS have welcomed the end of flooding chaos in their roads.

Kathleen Allen’s home, in Honeypot Lane, has been flooded twice because of the burst watermain.

She is pleased work to repair the main is coming to an end.

The 72-year-old said: “If the work had not been done, we would be at risk of flooding again. My home was flooded twice and it has only just dried out.

“On New Year’s Day, we were woken up by people knocking on the door. It’s a bit of a blur really.

“The second time it happened was just after I had new carpets laid following the first flood.

“The worst thing is the dehumidifier.

It’s so noisy and it takes forever to dry the house out. It’s good news they are doing this work. It has been done quite well and there hasn’t been any disruption or noise.”

Roy Warren, 81, also of Honeypot Lane, added: “It’s good news that the work is being done, and so quickly as well. I have seen the old iron pipes that were taken out and they looked terrible.

“I am surprised we were having water out of them. They looked dirty and in a bad state of repair.”