Two sports clubs have hit out at a water company after their pitches were flooded with “millions of litres of drinking water” from one of Northampton’s largest high pressure pipes.
The sports fields off Rushmere Road, used by Bold Dragoon Cricket Club and Northampton Old Scouts Rugby Club, were flooded last week after an underground pipe burst in nearby Tanfield Lane.
Reports suggest water started leaking up through the paving stones in the road before flooding the nearby pitches, which are currently two feet deep in drinking water.
Andy Davies, from the cricket club, said the side’s season was now ruined before it had even begun. He said the club’s frustrations were compounded by the fact the same mains flooded the field two years ago.
Mr Davies said: “Two years, almost to the day, there was an underground problem with the pipe and the fields were flooded. They told us at the time they had to do a temporary fix and they would come back and sort out the problem properly.
“It seems because they didn’t do the work properly before it has happened again.”
He added: “We are due to start the season in the first week of May. We built the ground ourselves and we know that amount of water, for that amount of time, there is no way it will be playable this year.”
He said the club estimated around 15 million litres of water had been lost on the fields.
Anglian Water today apologised for the flooding, but said the firm is currently unable to say how much water has been lost.
Emma Staples, from Anglian Water, said: “We’re sorry that a burst to a 27-inch water main near to Rushmere Road has led to flooding of the nearby sports field. We appreciate how inconvenient this will have been for those teams planning to use it this weekend.
“Thankfully no customers have been without water and no homes flooded as a result of this burst.
“We have been on site to carry out emergency repairs since last week, but with one of our largest, high pressure mains running four metres underground – approximately the height of a double-decker bus – this is a complex job that cannot be rushed.
“We’re working hard to get things back to normal as quickly and safely as possible, and have brought in specialist equipment to help us. We hope to have things fully repaired later this week.
“We recognise this isn’t the first time these fields have flooded and we’re genuinely sorry for that. However with 40,000km of water pipes under our region it’s inevitable that some repairs will always be needed.
“While we have access to the main we will be carrying out further investigations to minimise the risk of this happening in future.”