More on the De-Nile leaks

A correspondent has written to say: "With Reference to De-Nile, whilst I appreciate the humour and have read the stories with a large grin on my face, I still have a deep-seated annoyance that companies like United Utilities are allowed to take a 'We'll get around to it when we like' attitude, whilst still being able to charge what they like to ensure big fat profits for their shareholders. In the real world if you don't do the right thing by your customers you go out of business. Does anyone feel the same?"

We've also had a number of emails about the complexity of reporting a leak and how you have to do much of the investigative work yourself. It appears that if you find a leak, residents should first determine what type of leak it is – is it surface water; a leaking main; a leaking drain; sewage or any other type of leak.

Then you must determine what type of road is it – Primary, an A road, a B road or un-adopted. Then you can decide which of the various authorities' 'leak lines' to ring – Environment Agency; United Utilities; Borough Council; County Council etc etc. We reckon that the easiest way for a resident to find out what's going on is to dig down no more than 2 metres – after, of course, carrying out a suitable risk assessment and don't do this if you have a bad back, heart condition or are pregnant – to check where the water's coming from but, in no circumstances, do not taste the water for Health & Safety reasons!

On the other hand, you could follow the lead of the professionals. The one who came out to examine the Bagley Lane leak, we are told, simply threw a load of soil on top of the leak. This stopped the flow for a short time allowing him to make a sharp exit left. Minutes later, after the truck had disappeared, the leak bubbled out once again – but presumably some organisation's 'leak fixed target' has been met.

The only trouble is, which of the numerous 'leak' organisations do you call to complain. De-nile, it appears, was very much the right name to choose for our 'leaky' rivers.

This article is from our news archive. As a result pictures or videos originally associated with it may have been removed and some of the content may no longer be accurate or relevant.