• Water from a damaged pipe entered a Sheffield gas main, said Yorkshire Water.
• More than 3,000 homes were left without gas for two weeks.
• Cadent Gas said it cleaned 1 million liters of water from gas pipes.

An independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding how water from a ruptured pipe flowed into a Sheffield gas main has been announced by Yorkshire Water.

Following the event on December 2nd, more than 3,000 homes in Stannington were left without heating, hot water, or cooking facilities for two weeks.

According to Cadent Gas, all impacted properties’ gas supplies have been restored.

The water company asserted that it did not think negligence was the reason “water came out of our pipe.”

Four hours after the water main ruptured, it was isolated, according to the report.

Residents in the neighborhood witnessed water flowing out of gas meters and cookers after late-night intrusion into the main.

In a four-mile radius, Cadent Gas claimed to have cleared more than a million liters of water from gas pipes.

“While we do get water ingress incidents like this occasionally, the volumes we’re talking about here are way above the norm,” said Richard Sansom, the company’s director of the South Yorkshire and East Midlands network.

Nicola Shaw, chief executive officer of Yorkshire Water, said: “There is a misapprehension that water came out of our pipe as a result of negligence on Yorkshire Water’s part.

“We will have an independent investigation, but with the information we have at present, we do not believe that is likely to be the case.”

She said water escaped from the main via a hole where “a fitting had been displaced”, adding the pipe had not been recently excavated and was “working as it should”.

“Typically, something needs to happen to remove such a fitting – it needs to have internal or external force applied to it. We don’t yet know how that happened,” said Ms. Shaw.

“There will be a detailed and independent investigation into the incident involving all relevant parties.

“This will include things like understanding what caused the fitting to move, as well as how water was able to flow through such a large area of gas pipes.”

Customers who were impacted would receive compensation from the corporation, according to Ms. Shaw, who also urged them to make an application.

She also said customers in Stannington and Hillsborough would receive “an initial automatic payment to cover any increased electricity usage customers have had to face”.

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