Residents in Holcombe have been left without water for up to 24 hours on six separate occasions this year, prompting Anna Sabine MP to demand Bristol Water stops relying on temporary repairs and finally replaces the failing water main serving the village.
The repeated outages have caused widespread disruption, with households and local businesses left struggling without a basic necessity. The situation has become particularly concerning for vulnerable residents, some of whom have been promised emergency bottledwater by Bristol Water, only for those deliveries never to materialise.
The problem centres on a weak clay water main to the west of the village. Since December 2025, Bristol Water has repeatedly returned to carry out patch repairs rather than replace the pipe altogether. Despite these temporary fixes, the failures have continued,with thousands of litres of water reportedly escaping into surrounding fields. Residents are now questioning how many more repairs will be attempted before Bristol Water accepts that the main needs replacing.
The repeated outages have had a particularly serious impact on vulnerable residents. One resident living with a terminal illness was promised emergency bottled water by Bristol Water during an outage, but says it never arrived.
The impact has also been felt by local businesses. The landlord of The Holcombe hotel was forced to visit the local supermarket to buy bottled water so guests could wash themselves. Staff were left finding makeshift solutions to keep the business operating,including having to use buckets of water to keep guest toilet systems flushing. The hotel subsequently had to issue refunds, despite receiving only the same £100 compensation offered to affected households.
Alongside the repeated failures, residents have expressed anger at Bristol Water’s attitude and the way their concerns have been handled. They have described being dismissed when reporting problems, struggling to get meaningful answers and being left withoutthe emergency support they were told would be provided.
The village is now facing a situation where residents are stockpiling bottled water in their homes because they simply do not know when their supply might disappear again.
Anna Sabine MP has been working alongside residents and local councillor Sam Phripp to challenge Bristol Water over the repeated failures. A survey of 212 residents has helped establish the scale of the problem, with Anna pressing the company for a permanentsolution rather than another temporary repair.
Anna Sabine MP said:
“People in Holcombe have been incredibly patient, but patience is wearing thin. They have raised the same concerns time and again yet still do not have confidence that Bristol Water is taking the problem seriously.
“A water company has a basic responsibility to provide a reliable supply and to look after customers when things go wrong. That includes making sure vulnerable people get the support they need.
“I want Bristol Water to recognise the very real impact this is having on people’s lives and livelihoods. Residents should not have to become experts in managing water outages or spend their time chasing a company for answers.
“I will continue to press for a proper resolution, and I expect Bristol Water to set out exactly how and when it intends to put this right.”
Anna is continuing to seek a clear timetable from Bristol Water for replacing the failing main and assurances that vulnerable residents will receive appropriate support during any further disruption.
