For history of work on DRAINAGE pipes in Jack Straw's Lane, click here
For information on responsibilities for water main pipes and drainage pipes, click here
FRESH-WATER MAIN AND ITS SUBSIDIARIES
After a number of leaks have occurred in the water main in a road, it is put on an 'at risk' list and becomes a priority for major repair or replacement. However, Thames Water have said in the past that Oxford City Council was reluctant to have the water main re-laid in Jack Straw's Lane, possibly because of the inconvenience to traffic on this route to the John Radcliffe Hospital and also the cost of resurfacing, if large sections of the roadway had to be dug up and re-laid.
By 2023 relaying of the water main had become essential, as can be seen from the catalogue of leaks, including real gushers on 6 Sept. 2022, 27 Nov. 2021, 21 Dec. 2019 (that one broke up tarmac by the entrance to Doris Field Close), 12 Nov. 2019 and 8 May 2014. (Links to photos and videos are given in reports of those events below.)
Thames Water are now going to relay the water main. Their main contractor for this work will be Morrison Water Services, with Versatile Utilities as a subcontractor. For this work to be done, Jack Straw's Lane will be closed to through traffic from Monday, 8 January 2024, with the exception of works-related vehicles, emergency services and for access to premises only accessible from the closed section of the road. Road signs will be put up in advance. The work is expected to be completed by 29 February 2024.
For further info see new page: Re-laying of water main
For information on responsibilities for water main pipes and drainage pipes, click here
FRESH-WATER MAIN AND ITS SUBSIDIARIES
After a number of leaks have occurred in the water main in a road, it is put on an 'at risk' list and becomes a priority for major repair or replacement. However, Thames Water have said in the past that Oxford City Council was reluctant to have the water main re-laid in Jack Straw's Lane, possibly because of the inconvenience to traffic on this route to the John Radcliffe Hospital and also the cost of resurfacing, if large sections of the roadway had to be dug up and re-laid.
By 2023 relaying of the water main had become essential, as can be seen from the catalogue of leaks, including real gushers on 6 Sept. 2022, 27 Nov. 2021, 21 Dec. 2019 (that one broke up tarmac by the entrance to Doris Field Close), 12 Nov. 2019 and 8 May 2014. (Links to photos and videos are given in reports of those events below.)
Thames Water are now going to relay the water main. Their main contractor for this work will be Morrison Water Services, with Versatile Utilities as a subcontractor. For this work to be done, Jack Straw's Lane will be closed to through traffic from Monday, 8 January 2024, with the exception of works-related vehicles, emergency services and for access to premises only accessible from the closed section of the road. Road signs will be put up in advance. The work is expected to be completed by 29 February 2024.
For further info see new page: Re-laying of water main
19 Dec 2022
Work on the leak by No. 3 had been completed, a day before expected. The householder had seen the contractors arrive on 13 December and subsequent days. By the15th temperatures were well below freezing, which must have made digging difficult. The cold snap caused leaks in water mains across the country. |
12 December 2022 Water main leak by No. 3 reported - For photos, and (at end) video showing water from leak gurgling into drain at bottom of Jack Straw's Lane, click here
6 September 2022 16 Jack Straw's Lane
Burst water main - water flowing onto roadway via drive of No. 18
Burst water main - water flowing onto roadway via drive of No. 18
The leak flowing from the garden of No. 16 into the drive of No. 18 became evident early in the morning. By 9.45 am Thames Water were on site and more members of the team had arrived by mid-morning. The leak was was a real gusher and apart from a break in the late afternoon, they worked until well after dark to get it fixed - see photos + video. Many thanks to all involved!
A leak had occurred on a number of occasions in the past in the same place in the garden of No. 16 - see items below for 6 May 2020 , 29 November 2016 and 23 December 2014.
Previously the water main had also erupted in the driveway of No. 18, close to where water gushed in from No. 16 on 6 September 2022 - see item below for 12 November 2019.
In 2018, also a very hot summer, when the ground became very dry, Bristol Water explained why there had been an increase in mains leaks. When lots of people in the same area are running water, the pressure within the water main is increased; "When this happens we see slight movements in the main, not much, a millimetre or two. But this repeatedly happening over a period of time causes the main to burst, as it cannot move much in the hard, dry soil." Bristol Water said there was little it could do to control the situation and stop the bursts.
Information from Bristol Live, 30 July 2018
A leak had occurred on a number of occasions in the past in the same place in the garden of No. 16 - see items below for 6 May 2020 , 29 November 2016 and 23 December 2014.
Previously the water main had also erupted in the driveway of No. 18, close to where water gushed in from No. 16 on 6 September 2022 - see item below for 12 November 2019.
In 2018, also a very hot summer, when the ground became very dry, Bristol Water explained why there had been an increase in mains leaks. When lots of people in the same area are running water, the pressure within the water main is increased; "When this happens we see slight movements in the main, not much, a millimetre or two. But this repeatedly happening over a period of time causes the main to burst, as it cannot move much in the hard, dry soil." Bristol Water said there was little it could do to control the situation and stop the bursts.
Information from Bristol Live, 30 July 2018
Thames Water arrived to investigate at 11:20 am, 27 February 2021
Not long after that a team arrived to tackle the problem. Work was still continuing at midnight. Water pressure was low in neighbouring houses during the repair work but had returned to full pressure around 1.15 am the next day, and probably some time before. (The relaying of a water pipe on the other side of the driveway to this house (No. 14) was carried out in November 2018 - photo further down this page.)
Not long after that a team arrived to tackle the problem. Work was still continuing at midnight. Water pressure was low in neighbouring houses during the repair work but had returned to full pressure around 1.15 am the next day, and probably some time before. (The relaying of a water pipe on the other side of the driveway to this house (No. 14) was carried out in November 2018 - photo further down this page.)
Friday, 4 September 2020
Thames Water began work on an 'an essential leak repair' by the Bright Horizons Jack Straw's Lane nursery.
Residents were notified by letter of the possibility of temporary loss of pressure or water supply and partial road closure. The work was scheduled for completion on Tues. 8 Sept.
Thames Water began work on an 'an essential leak repair' by the Bright Horizons Jack Straw's Lane nursery.
Residents were notified by letter of the possibility of temporary loss of pressure or water supply and partial road closure. The work was scheduled for completion on Tues. 8 Sept.
6 May 2020 Repair of leak to freshwater main inside front garden of No 16
Water had been leaking from the garden of No. 16 and running down the roadway for some weeks. When Thames Water initially investigated this leak, tests carried out on the water did not detect any chlorine and therefore the conclusion was that it could not be mains water and must be water from a spring. Photos (second image is a video) here. However, as the water continued to run down the road even after a long period of dry weather, further investigations were made on 6 May 2020, using a mechanical digger, and a leak in the freshwater main was found below a manhole to the sewer in the north-eastern corner of the garden.
21 December 2019
Water was spouting up from the road at two points beside the kerb on the south side of the road near Doris Field Close and had also broken up the tarmac in getting through at two other points. Video taken at approx. 3:45 pm:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/KkYy7JPVrKkYDhjy6
(To see FULL video, click on image that appears)
Thames Water were notified at about 4 pm, via their website and also via Fix-My-Street; the latter site passed the info on automatically to the County Council due to notification that the road surface was affected. Thames Water engineers arrived about half an hour later. This time the burst was in the up-hill* water main (*see explanation under Freshwater distribution pipes at top of this page). An engineer said the significant damage to the road surface was due to the ground underneath being quite soft at that point.
Water was spouting up from the road at two points beside the kerb on the south side of the road near Doris Field Close and had also broken up the tarmac in getting through at two other points. Video taken at approx. 3:45 pm:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/KkYy7JPVrKkYDhjy6
(To see FULL video, click on image that appears)
Thames Water were notified at about 4 pm, via their website and also via Fix-My-Street; the latter site passed the info on automatically to the County Council due to notification that the road surface was affected. Thames Water engineers arrived about half an hour later. This time the burst was in the up-hill* water main (*see explanation under Freshwater distribution pipes at top of this page). An engineer said the significant damage to the road surface was due to the ground underneath being quite soft at that point.
Jack Straw's Lane remained closed to traffic the following morning (22 Dec) while repairs to the water main and the road surface outside No. 33 continued. All work was completed, including laying the very neat temporary road surface patches and clearing up, by 2 pm. A permanent repair to the road surface was carried out on 20 March 2020.
Also on 21 December 2019, Thames Water attended to a smaller leak in the front garden of No. 11, lower down JSL, where a wall had to be partly demolished for a repair to be carried out.
12 November 2019
A major leak in the fresh water main in the driveway of No. 18 was reported to Thames Water early in the morning. An engineer visited the site right away - video here
The team that came to carry out the repair that afternoon were successful in stopping the leak, once problems with closing a valve a little way up the hill had been overcome.
A major leak in the fresh water main in the driveway of No. 18 was reported to Thames Water early in the morning. An engineer visited the site right away - video here
The team that came to carry out the repair that afternoon were successful in stopping the leak, once problems with closing a valve a little way up the hill had been overcome.
Saturday, 10 August 2019 Leak by No. 32b Jack Straw's Lane (Bright Horizons Nursery)
Saturday, 10 August 2019 Leak by No. 32b Jack Straw's Lane (Bright Horizons Nursery)
22 November 2018 Repair needed to water pipe at No. 14 Jack Straw's Lane
Tuesday, 29 November 2016
A pedestrian reported a major leak to Thames Water in the early hours of the morning. Water from the leak, which originated in the garden on No. 16 (the site of a previous leak in December 2014) spread right across the roadway and, according to residents who saw it, was flowing strongly before the engineers arrived not long after and turned off the water. The road was closed while repairs were carried out and some residents had their supply cut off for a short time.
Unfortunately this leak coincided with the first hard frost of the winter and the water had frozen on parts of the road during the night before Thames Water were notified, causing hazardous conditions very early in the morning. Several cyclists fell off their bikes and one lady was taken by ambulance to the JR Hospital with a bad contusion to her head. Police were also called to the scene of the accident.
Tuesday, 29 November 2016
A pedestrian reported a major leak to Thames Water in the early hours of the morning. Water from the leak, which originated in the garden on No. 16 (the site of a previous leak in December 2014) spread right across the roadway and, according to residents who saw it, was flowing strongly before the engineers arrived not long after and turned off the water. The road was closed while repairs were carried out and some residents had their supply cut off for a short time.
Unfortunately this leak coincided with the first hard frost of the winter and the water had frozen on parts of the road during the night before Thames Water were notified, causing hazardous conditions very early in the morning. Several cyclists fell off their bikes and one lady was taken by ambulance to the JR Hospital with a bad contusion to her head. Police were also called to the scene of the accident.
REPAIR OF FRESH WATER MAIN AT NO. 6 / NO. 4 JSL - AUGUST 2016
7 September 2016: Thames Water sent a team from their 'Domestic' service to repair the minor leak previously detected in a supply pipe to No. 6. Following that repair, no water at all could be seen running from the driveway of No. 4 into the roadside drain.
6 September 2016: Water was again running down the drive of No. 4 and into the drain. Thames Water came to carry out an inspection at the end of August. Water that was arising on 4 Sept from an area in the driveway of No. 8 near the patch of tarmac put down to cover where excavation took place on 16 August, and was still running on 5 Sept, has now stopped running, so is not likely to be due to a leak in the water main.
Friday, 19 August 2016: Thames Water reported that the only work left to do was a repair to a minor leak in a supply pipe to one property.
Wednesday, 17 August 2016: The repair of the leak in the water main somewhere between No. 6 and No. 4 has been completed. Excavation required uphill of the leak was carried out at No. 8, where it caused less disruption to the garden than it would have done at No. 6. The Clancydocwra team had a difficult job pulling and pushing the new 'sleeve', which is quite a rigid pipe, through the water main, possibly because of a join somewhere in that section, but they persevered and were successful in the end - see video.
The Thompson Ecology representative remained on site continually throughout the work to check that no serious damage was done to tree roots.
More photos have been added to those put on Google photos yesterday.
Notes have been added directly onto today's photos but to see information for the earlier ones, when in slideshow mode click on white circle with 'i'. To hide info, click on the X at top right.
Tuesday, 16 August 2016: A Clancydocwra team (subcontracted by Thames Water) arrived in the morning, as well as a representative of Thompson Ecology, an environmental consultancy firm working for Clancydocwra. Preliminary investigations showed that the work planned would not cause serious damage to tree roots and the repair could proceed as planned. Excavation started on land belonging to No. 8 with a view to inserting a 40 m section of new pipe inside the existing water main, running downhill through the land of Nos 6 and 4 (the part where the leak is). By 3 pm a deep hole had been excavated but there was no sign of the water main, just a foul-water drainage pipe. A further hole was then dug alongside the first one, slightly further from the roadway, and the water main was revealed. Work will continue on Wednesday, 17 August.
See photos For photo info, when in slideshow mode click on white circle with 'i'. To hide info, click on the X at top right.
The manager in charge of the current work was also involved in the repairs to the major leak that occurred at a different point, at No. 6, in May 2014.
Video of leak taken 11 August 2016. Compare with video taken 3 April 2016.
16 July 2016 The leak seems to has got a bit worse and has eroded the surface of the driveway to No. 4 - see video. Thames Water were notified of this on 18 July and said that they were waiting for an ecological inspector to visit the site (to be organised in conjunction with the Environment Agency) and determine whether the repair currently planned would cause significant damage to the roots of the nearby tree. If the inspection shows that such damage would occur, the whole of the water main for the section of the road from No. 2 onwards uphill might need to be replaced in a slightly different position alongside the existing one. This would be a big undertaking requiring the road to be closed for several days. Thames Water said Oxford City Council was very much against such a road closure.
22 June 2016 A representative of Thames Water advised that the road would need to be closed for repairs to be carried out. They have sent Oxford City Council possible dates for the work but the Council is taking some time to respond.
6 June 2016 A Thames Water engineer working at the small fresh-water main manhole at the bottom of Jack Straw's Lane explained that the reason repairs to the leak at No. 6 / No. 4 could not go ahead on 31 May is that this time a different section of pipe is involved, which is closer than the previous leak (May 2014) was to a large root of the nearby chestnut tree on No. 4's side. As it is against the law to cut through a tree root above a certain diameter (and thus risk harming the tree), Thames Water will have to explore an alternative way of tackling the problem.
Video of leak taken 4 June 2016 The leak does not seem to be getting worse
31 May 2016 A representative of Thames Water reported that engineers turned up at the site, as scheduled, but could not go ahead with the work because they saw it would involve digging around tree roots and further consultation and planning would be needed for this.
17 May 2016 Repair of the leak from No. 6 is scheduled for Tuesday, 31 May, unless it gets worse before then and needs emergency action. Leaflets will be delivered to residents giving them advance warning of the work and possible disconnection of the water supply, which would be for no longer than 4 hours. It might be possible to do the repairs without disconnection.
8 May 2016 Leak from No. 6 not yet fixed. Video taken 8 May 2016 click here
The Thames Water Case Number for this leak is 30712948
26 April 2016 Water from No. 6 is still running down the road but Thames Water are on the case. It is likely that the bank will have to be excavated, as in May 2014 (see below). The water supply to some houses may have to be turned off while the repair is carried out. For this, a minimum of 48 hours' notice has to be given to householders either by putting notices in the road or leaflets through letterboxes. It may be possible to avoid disconnection by bringing a tanker of water and connecting it to the pipe supplying these properties. Thames Water have to liaise with the City Council (roadworks) and coordinate the availability of a repair team with the availability of a tanker, if required.
6 April 2016 Someone from Thames Water came to look at the leak by No. 6.
Mid-March to 5 April 2016
A further leak originating below the front garden of No. 6 (see below, previous leak here on 8 May 2014) and running into the roadway by No. 4 - for short video, click here
A representative of Thames Water said on 5 April that engineers were scheduled to come to tackle the problem on 14 April but she would investigate the reason for the delay.
6 September 2016: Water was again running down the drive of No. 4 and into the drain. Thames Water came to carry out an inspection at the end of August. Water that was arising on 4 Sept from an area in the driveway of No. 8 near the patch of tarmac put down to cover where excavation took place on 16 August, and was still running on 5 Sept, has now stopped running, so is not likely to be due to a leak in the water main.
Friday, 19 August 2016: Thames Water reported that the only work left to do was a repair to a minor leak in a supply pipe to one property.
Wednesday, 17 August 2016: The repair of the leak in the water main somewhere between No. 6 and No. 4 has been completed. Excavation required uphill of the leak was carried out at No. 8, where it caused less disruption to the garden than it would have done at No. 6. The Clancydocwra team had a difficult job pulling and pushing the new 'sleeve', which is quite a rigid pipe, through the water main, possibly because of a join somewhere in that section, but they persevered and were successful in the end - see video.
The Thompson Ecology representative remained on site continually throughout the work to check that no serious damage was done to tree roots.
More photos have been added to those put on Google photos yesterday.
Notes have been added directly onto today's photos but to see information for the earlier ones, when in slideshow mode click on white circle with 'i'. To hide info, click on the X at top right.
Tuesday, 16 August 2016: A Clancydocwra team (subcontracted by Thames Water) arrived in the morning, as well as a representative of Thompson Ecology, an environmental consultancy firm working for Clancydocwra. Preliminary investigations showed that the work planned would not cause serious damage to tree roots and the repair could proceed as planned. Excavation started on land belonging to No. 8 with a view to inserting a 40 m section of new pipe inside the existing water main, running downhill through the land of Nos 6 and 4 (the part where the leak is). By 3 pm a deep hole had been excavated but there was no sign of the water main, just a foul-water drainage pipe. A further hole was then dug alongside the first one, slightly further from the roadway, and the water main was revealed. Work will continue on Wednesday, 17 August.
See photos For photo info, when in slideshow mode click on white circle with 'i'. To hide info, click on the X at top right.
The manager in charge of the current work was also involved in the repairs to the major leak that occurred at a different point, at No. 6, in May 2014.
Video of leak taken 11 August 2016. Compare with video taken 3 April 2016.
16 July 2016 The leak seems to has got a bit worse and has eroded the surface of the driveway to No. 4 - see video. Thames Water were notified of this on 18 July and said that they were waiting for an ecological inspector to visit the site (to be organised in conjunction with the Environment Agency) and determine whether the repair currently planned would cause significant damage to the roots of the nearby tree. If the inspection shows that such damage would occur, the whole of the water main for the section of the road from No. 2 onwards uphill might need to be replaced in a slightly different position alongside the existing one. This would be a big undertaking requiring the road to be closed for several days. Thames Water said Oxford City Council was very much against such a road closure.
22 June 2016 A representative of Thames Water advised that the road would need to be closed for repairs to be carried out. They have sent Oxford City Council possible dates for the work but the Council is taking some time to respond.
6 June 2016 A Thames Water engineer working at the small fresh-water main manhole at the bottom of Jack Straw's Lane explained that the reason repairs to the leak at No. 6 / No. 4 could not go ahead on 31 May is that this time a different section of pipe is involved, which is closer than the previous leak (May 2014) was to a large root of the nearby chestnut tree on No. 4's side. As it is against the law to cut through a tree root above a certain diameter (and thus risk harming the tree), Thames Water will have to explore an alternative way of tackling the problem.
Video of leak taken 4 June 2016 The leak does not seem to be getting worse
31 May 2016 A representative of Thames Water reported that engineers turned up at the site, as scheduled, but could not go ahead with the work because they saw it would involve digging around tree roots and further consultation and planning would be needed for this.
17 May 2016 Repair of the leak from No. 6 is scheduled for Tuesday, 31 May, unless it gets worse before then and needs emergency action. Leaflets will be delivered to residents giving them advance warning of the work and possible disconnection of the water supply, which would be for no longer than 4 hours. It might be possible to do the repairs without disconnection.
8 May 2016 Leak from No. 6 not yet fixed. Video taken 8 May 2016 click here
The Thames Water Case Number for this leak is 30712948
26 April 2016 Water from No. 6 is still running down the road but Thames Water are on the case. It is likely that the bank will have to be excavated, as in May 2014 (see below). The water supply to some houses may have to be turned off while the repair is carried out. For this, a minimum of 48 hours' notice has to be given to householders either by putting notices in the road or leaflets through letterboxes. It may be possible to avoid disconnection by bringing a tanker of water and connecting it to the pipe supplying these properties. Thames Water have to liaise with the City Council (roadworks) and coordinate the availability of a repair team with the availability of a tanker, if required.
6 April 2016 Someone from Thames Water came to look at the leak by No. 6.
Mid-March to 5 April 2016
A further leak originating below the front garden of No. 6 (see below, previous leak here on 8 May 2014) and running into the roadway by No. 4 - for short video, click here
A representative of Thames Water said on 5 April that engineers were scheduled to come to tackle the problem on 14 April but she would investigate the reason for the delay.
16 February 2016
Small leak in vicinity of stopcock at entrance to
Nos 51 and 53 Jack Straw's Lane. Leak identified
16 February. Work was continuing on 24 February.
9 February 2015
Leak in the fresh water main.
Not as big as previous leaks. This time at the entrance to No. 2 JSL - for video click here.
Photo taken 9 Feb 2015
Leak fixed on the morning of Friday, 13 February.
Leak in the fresh water main.
Not as big as previous leaks. This time at the entrance to No. 2 JSL - for video click here.
Photo taken 9 Feb 2015
Leak fixed on the morning of Friday, 13 February.
30 December 2014, noon: a further leak appeared in the freshwater main, this time at No. 13 JSL. Thames Water engineers who were already in the vicinity doing routine checks on wastewater drains informed TW that this leak should be fixed as a matter of urgency because of sub-zero night-time temperatures and hazards of frozen water, particularly if water pools on the Marston Road. The leak was fixed that night - many thanks to TW for their swift action. For video click here. A leak in the freshwater main occurred at the end of December 2013 at the same property on the other side of the front garden.
22 December 2014 am: a team arrived to fix the leak, which was found not to be in a 'supply pipe' but in the main itself, which runs through the gardens of houses in this part of JSL.
21 December, am: Thames Water engineer arrived to investigate the problem.
20 December: Thames Water informed of the leak and given link to video (see below)
19 December 2014: Water leaking from within garden of No. 16 Jack Straw's Lane
for a few days and running down the road, though not a lot of rain previously. See video taken 19 Dec 2014.
21 December, am: Thames Water engineer arrived to investigate the problem.
20 December: Thames Water informed of the leak and given link to video (see below)
19 December 2014: Water leaking from within garden of No. 16 Jack Straw's Lane
for a few days and running down the road, though not a lot of rain previously. See video taken 19 Dec 2014.
Leak at No. 6 JSL, 8 May 2014, which occurred during road resurfacing
The fracture that occurred on 8 May 2014 was repaired but on 10 May a further fracture was found within a couple of metres. The water main is very old and movement of soil necessary to repair the initial fracture is likely to have caused the second one.
Clancydocwra excavated the slope beside the roadway to mend the leaks. Shrubs had to be removed from the bank before digging could start. Commercial landscapers Ground Control Ltd were subcontracted to do this. Under the direction of Geoff Drewett, the Ground Control team bagged up the roots to prevent them drying out while the work was being done. Once repairs to the water main had been completed, they remodelled the slope and replanted the shrubs (last photo in slide show - for photos click here.
Clancydocwra excavated the slope beside the roadway to mend the leaks. Shrubs had to be removed from the bank before digging could start. Commercial landscapers Ground Control Ltd were subcontracted to do this. Under the direction of Geoff Drewett, the Ground Control team bagged up the roots to prevent them drying out while the work was being done. Once repairs to the water main had been completed, they remodelled the slope and replanted the shrubs (last photo in slide show - for photos click here.