Water leak Sheffield: Water 'cascading' through Crookes neighbourhood as main pipe bursts in cold

Residents say hundreds of gallons of water have been wasted after a mains pipe burst overnight on Mona Road, in Crookes. As well as low pressure from taps and showers, residents say the leaks has caused a “massive river” leading as far as Springvale and into Upperthorpe.

One resident told The Star how the early-morning leak quickly froze in this week’s sub-zero temperatures, creating huge patches of black ice.

The homeowner said: “It’s cause a massive river of water all the way down round the corner onto Springvale, on to Commonside, and no doubt pouring down the hill to Upperthorpe. A lot of it froze in the night, so the streets are even more like ice rinks than before. People on the school chat say they’ve slipped or skidded on the school run this morning.”

Photos show how the leak has forced its way through tarmac and pushed up stone slabs on the pavement.

It comes after a burst Yorkshire Water pipe in Stannington on December 2 tore into nearby gas mains under the road, causing an ‘unprecedented gas flood’ where water flowed into the gas pipes. Up to 2,000 homes were subsequently left without heating or hot water. Today, some homes are still not back up and running 14 days later. There were as many as nine other leaks reported in Stannington in 2022.

The resident added: “In Victorian streets like Crookes the water pipes might have been laid in the 1850s. The pipes get colder in weather like this. If there’s a weak spot or a surge of water pressure it bursts up."

In a statement today about the emergency in Stannington, MP for Sheffield Hallam Olivia Blake said: “The UK has some of the oldest water infrastructure in the world. If action isn’t taken to maintain and upgrade old water pipes it won’t be long until something like this happens again. Serious lessons must be learnt and urgent action taken by Yorkshire Water so that no community has to go through the devastation that ours has.”

Yorkshire Water’s online leaks map has the leak marked as “resolved”. The utility company has been contacted for a comment.