Roadworks East Dulwich Grove

[Huggers]

Seems a lot of hanging around in a queue with no traffic coming the other way, with a four lane traffic lights control system and loads of cones for what looks like one uneventful road hole and small pile of rubble.

[Dogkennelhillbilly]

Expect you'd feel differently if eg your car fell through the road surface because the subpavement had weakened/washed out due to the water leak.

[spark67]

there was a burst water main last week, cycled through a rapid flowing river as it gushed out a hole in the road, an inconvenience, but works necessary it looks like.

[mrwb]

Why do there seem to be so many burst water mains these days?

I've lived in London 30 years odd and don't remember these continuous problems till 10 or more years agao.

[sally buying]

Dividends to share holders not for repairs

[nivag]

mrwb Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Why do there seem to be so many burst water mains

> these days?

>

> I've lived in London 30 years odd and don't

> remember these continuous problems till 10 or more

> years agao.

Lack of investment from Thames water over the years due to paying the fat cats at the top more money equals failing infrastructure.

[heartblock]

All of ED Grove is patches of repairs, the tarmac is dreadful for cyclists with lots of dangerous small potholes, speed humps not marked or painted regularly (although painted after an event on ED Grove), the pavement uneven and very bad for my disabled neighbour. The water pipes near the Dutch Estate break regularly. There has been very little care or investment in ED Grove, even the community garden we were told would stay, was destroyed

I see that some roads have new tarmac and new pavement ...guess which roads.

[BrandNewGuy]

Our bit of southeast London has had significant residential development over the last twenty years or so. The demand for water has increased and the old infrastructure is not fit for purpose, particularly with increases in mains pressure to compensate for the increase in demand in what is a hilly area. Yes Thames Water want to deliver profits to their shareholders, but the infrastructure problem is a nightmare and all they can do is patch it. There's no indication that pre-privatisation Thames Water was going to confront the issue either.

[heartblock]

Privatising an essential service such as clean water delivery was always a way to make very rich people richer, never about providing the service. It's time to nationalise and I don't mean the old way, a modern nationally owned company....and transport...and gas and electricity. But for now Thames water need to be told by Southwark to put down new pipes along the whole length of ED Grove.

[Dogkennelhillbilly]

nivag Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> mrwb Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > Why do there seem to be so many burst water

> mains

> > these days?

> >

> > I've lived in London 30 years odd and don't

> > remember these continuous problems till 10 or

> more

> > years agao.

>

> Lack of investment from Thames water over the

> years due to paying the fat cats at the top more

> money equals failing infrastructure.

Actually backwards - investment while Thames Water was public sector was woefully poor. One of the conditions of privatisation price increases was that there would be massive increase in infrastructure investment and minimum spend year on year - regardless of how much "fat cats" are being spent.

Privatisation of monopolies is generally a rubbish idea but under investment in water and sanitation infrastructure in London is evidence of the opposite argument!