Homes and businesses affected are having to use bottled water while work continues to fix leaks and repair burst pipes following a thaw in temperatures after last week’s cold weather.
In the Commons, Thames Water was criticised for failing to contact residents and tell them how they could collect bottles of water.
Labour’s Chuka Umunna, who represents Streatham, said he was "astounded" at the lack of a Government statement on the issue, adding that "at the very least" there should be "some kind of public inquiry".
We’re pumping an extra 500 million litres of water a day – the equivalent of 200 Olympic swimming pools – through its network to bring all customers back into supply – more info on what we’re doing here: https://t.co/UfECIulsdw pic.twitter.com/kLALZZbdyr — Thames Water (@thameswater) March 5, 2018 Raising a point of order, Mr Umunna said: "Over the last few years there have been several major water leaks, burst water mains causing severe disruption to my constituents meaning that they can’t wash, they can’t cook, they can’t do the basic things we take for granted.
"Yesterday over 20,000 homes across London and… many others across the rest of the country were left without water.
While the snows, the freeze, the thaw has posed huge challenges, Ofwat this afternoon has said that these companies have fallen far short in forward planning, giving the right support and communication to people."
Labour colleague Helen Hayes, who represents the neighbouring constituency of Dulwich and West Norwood, told the Commons: "Thousands of my constituents have been without water over the weekend, some since last Thursday.
"During that time they have been unable to contact Thames Water by telephone or via the website and they have not received any information on when supply will be restored or how to obtain bottled water."
She added: "This is a national crisis in our water industry and it is clear that the industry is not fit for purpose."
Both Jaguar Land Rover and Cadbury have seen production at UK plants hit as a result.

The Cleveland Metropolitan School District has remediated “virtually all” of the water fountains and faucets that were found to have elevated levels of lead in a 2016 study.
At the time, the district promised to take “immediate steps” to remove or replace the 79 drinking fountains and 40 faucets with the elevated lead levels.
"In addition to replacing or removing drinking-water outlets, the District will also remove or replace other fixtures like restroom faucets or outdoor spigots, where elevated levels of lead were found," CMSD said in an operations report.
The lead tests covered 65 buildings built before 2002 and four buildings built more recently, which were tested "as a precaution."
No water source in the newer buildings showed elevated levels of lead.
“Of the 119 sources, virtually all have been remediated, meaning the outlets were replaced, capped or, in a very few cases, a filter was installed.
3 at Iowa-Maple School.
This one has been shut off and probably will be replaced.
“In addition," the spokesperson continued, "a fountain at William Cullen Bryant School has been replaced but will not be activated until the water is tested.
“It is important to note that the District was under no mandate to test and remediate water outlets but did so voluntarily as a precaution to ensure staff and students have access to safe drinking water.

Southern Water said it was working to restore supplies to up to 5,000 homes in Sittingbourne, Kent, urging customers to "only use the water you absolutely must".
These problems are likely to continue over the next few days.” But it has now emerged that households affected could be owed as little as £20 in compensation.
Can I claim compensation for my water shortage?
If your water supply is interrupted by an emergency, such as a burst main water pipe, the firm has 12 hours to restore it.
If the supplier fails to resolve the issue within the above time frames, the Water Services Regulation Authority, Ofwat, says households are entitled to £20 (for the first 24 hour outage), plus £10 for every further day they are without water.
If you don’t receive this payment within 20 working days, you’re entitled to a further £20 payment.
What your supplier HAS to do During the water outage, your supplier must let you know about: Any alternative supplies Plans to restore it and A telephone number for information and updates If the cut lasts more than 12 hours, you should be given alternative water – this could be from a tanker on the street.
The water crisis may be the subject of discussion right now, but last week, during the storm itself, thousands of homes were also without power.
"If the outage was due to a storm or other poor weather conditions, households may receive £70 if they were without power for 24 hours, and £70 for each additional 12 hour period.
Likewise, if you’ve been living in below zero weather for seven days or more, you may be able to claim a Cold Weather Payment to help cover your winter bills.

Residents of a small Banks Peninsula village are calling on the Christchurch City Council to build a $2.6 million water scheme so they can safely drink the tap water.
About 100 Okains Bay residents and the council-owned camping ground source water from a private scheme administered by a committee of locals.
The supply does not meet the Drinking Water Standards for New Zealand and health officials are putting pressure on the Okains Bay Water Committee to make the water drinkable.
* Okains Bay residents want drinkable water * Christchurch drinking water to be chlorinated for a year as councillors approve plan to keep it safe * Water contaminated 125 times in four years * Cloudy water concerns local residents * Steady progress improving drinking water quality The water is drawn from the nearby Opara Stream and fed into homes without being treated.
The water would still be taken from the same stream, but from further upstream, about 50 metres above sea level.
This was the staff’s preferred option, but no money has been set aside in the council’s budget for the work.
Okains Bay Water Committee chairman Peter Moore said it would be good if the council funded the scheme, because the committee was not able to.
He said while $2.6m might seem like a lot of money for 40 households, the water would be used by thousands of campers who stay at the Okains Bay camp ground each year.
Canterbury medical officer of health Alistair Humphrey said he was concerned for public safety and hoped the council would fund the scheme.
Okains Bay School spends more than $1000 a year on a filtration system and water testing so children and staff can drink the water.

Hon Saleban Yusuf Ali Koore, the Minister of Water Development during the opening of the rehabilitated borehole funded by the Federal Government of Germany (FFO) located in Maroodi Jeh region in Iliinta Dhex trading center said”I happy to be opening here in illinta Dhehe to open the newly rehabilitated comprehensive Borehole and other facilities which have being constructed by Save the children, the government of Somaliland led by H.E President Muse Bihi Abdi has made a priority to develop water resources.
The Water Development said , “I would, also like to use this opportunity to urge the illinta Dhehe residents to utilize the new water facilities in a good way, secondly on behalf of the people and government of Somaliland, I would like to thank Federal Government of Germany (FFO) and Save the Children for their contributions”, he said.
Mr. Mukhtar Mohamed Hassan, Save the Children representative speaking during the handover of the three newly rehabilitated boreholes to the Somaliland ministry of water Development stated as follows:- Illinta Borehole upgrading: Save the children had constructed the following water facilities at Illinta dhehe 45m3 elevated tank (225 drums) constructed on the top of the mountain to provide water to the village through gravity Installation 3050m Upvc pipeline distribution from the borehole to the elevated and from the elevated tank to the water kiosk at the gate of the village Two water kiosk, one near the elevated tank and another one at the gate of the village Two animal troughs, one for goats and another for camels All the above the mentioned activities were constructed through a fund secured from the federal foreign office of Berlin (FFO) Moreover save the children has installed hybrid solar system from a fund secured from OFDA (USAID).68 solar panels each 250watt complete with frame, solar cable, controller and fenced with chain-link is constructed to pump water from the borehole to the elevated tank.
Also a new submersible pump that can operate both the generator and solar power is installed so that power can be alternatively connect to the system.
The Minister of water resources, afterwards opened and inspected the newly upgraded Botor,Gabiley region.
Mr. Mukhtar Mohamed Hassan, Save the Children representative while handing over the upgraded Botor borehole to the ministry of water development stated as follows:- Borehole Upgrading at Botor in Gabiley: Save the children has upgraded Botor borehole using a fund secured from DFID( Department for International Development in UK) constructing the following facilities:- 45m3 elevated tank (225 drums) as storage.
650m Upvc pipeline distribution from the borehole to the elevated tank, from the tank to the kiosk and animal troughs.
Generator room for future generator and safe room for the solar channel box.
The system is now fully functional providing safe, clean and affordable water to the agro-pastoral communities in Botor.
The system is fully functional providing safe, clean, cheap and affordable water to the beneficiaries living in Dilla and its nearby surrounding rural areas.

HYDERABAD: Life is an everyday struggle for Ghous Nagar residents, a weaker section colony in Chandrayangutta, as the locality lacks access to basic amenities such as adequate water pipelines and proper drainage system.
With an area inhabiting about 4,000 residents having just one pipeline with a single tap connection for drinking water needs, fights over water among residents is a commonplace.
V Venkatesh, basti leader, said, “The area is located at an elevation and that is why the stairs of the government funded houses they live in are difficult to climb.
Imagine the plight of the women who have to fill up water in the mad rush at the public tap around 7.30 am every alternate day and have to climb up the oddly built stairs after walking over a kilometre through the basti.” The administration is so negligent towards our problems that our life has become miserable here, said Laxmamma, a resident.
The residents pointed that not only water crisis but other aspects about the basti like roads and sanitation are also neglected by GHMC.
Several sewerage lines overflow through manholes in the midst of the basti, which is not only an eyesore but also breeding ground for mosquitoes.
Sheikh Ibrahim, another resident said, “Sometimes a few parts of the basti stink very badly.
The area has also not seen any GHMC worker coming here for days, which is why the roads have not been swept and the air here is extremely dusty .
The residents also shared that except for a bus which is connected to the area, they have no access to any other transport.
In emergency situations like if a pregnant woman is to be rushed to a hospital, they are left with no other way but to travel 3 kilometres to the main road to get access to an autorisckshaw.

The Water Authority of Fiji (WAF) has outsourced 32 rural water projects to three local contractors namely, Ariyan’s Contractors, Basic Engineering Technologies and Taviraki Building & Civil Works.
At the contract signing held at the Authority’s National Office in Wainivula on Friday), WAF chief operating officer, Samanmal Ekanayake, said the outsourcing model that the authority is implementing empowers the community by paying the water committee to organise the labour required to undertake the works.
“Further, it builds the local capacity of contractors to undertake water supply construction work,” said Mr Ekanayake.
A contract sum will be paid into the village water committees’ account for their labour, which can be used for maintenance and upkeep,” said WAF’s Manager for Rural Development Affairs, Mr Vula Vakacegu.
Ariyan’s Contractors were awarded with 11 projects in the Northern Division, nine in the Cakaudrove province and two in the province of Bua, from which a total of 1,790 people will benefit from the projects.
Mr Ekanayake said the total cost of the 32 rural water projects is over $1 million.
He said the WAF would continue to implement works that will ensure Fijians have access to safe drinking water and proper sanitation.
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Seventy percent of the Earth’s surface is covered by water — 97 percent saltwater, 3 percent freshwater.
More than a billion people lack easily accessible water.
Meanwhile, Iowa’s relative abundance of freshwater is threatened by inaction, even with legislation passed early in the current session that did little more than provide election cover.
In Iowa, the problem is water quality — runoff primarily from agricultural sources (chemical fertilizers and bacteria from livestock facilities), but also industrial — with potentially dangerous elements spilling into rivers and aquifers.
In December 2017, the state Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, Department of Natural Resources and the Iowa State University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences developed the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy.
It estimated a cost of $3 billion to $6 billion to reduce agricultural and industrial pollutants from waterways using thousands of wetlands, hundreds of bioreactors and millions of acres blanketed with cover crops to soak up nitrates.
The other $126 million — tapping an existing tax on metered water currently flowing into the Iowa’s general and school infrastructure funds — will help municipalities and towns improve drinking water and wastewater facilities.
The Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy had sought cooperation from the state’s nearly 90,000 farmers, but at a cost of nearly $1.2 billion annually over 50 years.
In 2010, 63 percent of voters approved the Natural Resources and Outdoor Recreation Trust Fund, which would add three-eighths of a cent to the state sales tax, generating $150 million to $180 million annually.
Six years later, 74 percent of Linn County voters approved a $40 million conservation bond to fund projects such as wetlands development to protect sources of drinking water and improve the quality of rivers and streams as well as acquiring land for natural floodwater storage.

People who travel are necessarily exposed to the practices and lifestyles of the people in the areas they visit.
Filipinos having been to countries especially in the North (a term referring to economically developed nations) can’t help but observe the stark contrasts of lifestyles from ours, with their government clearly prioritizing the essential services that they provide to the constituents in improving the quality of their lives.
Take, for example, clean water for drinking.
Our sense of security and comfort now hinges on liters of water encased in plastic bottles, which have, of course, added to the growing plastic scourge haunting us, including our oceans.
Why do you think selling bottled waters has become a lucrative enterprise here and elsewhere in the past decades?
In the good old days when the Metropolitan Cebu Water District was inexistent, segments of one’s childhood experience involved fetching water from communal artesian wells.
Girls and boys carried pails of various sizes for the water to be used by households and for their storage in the big clay jars, an indispensable item then.
The place became the community center for fostering friendships and ingrained the bayanihan spirit that used to be part of our collective psyche.
Our government is duty-bound to ensure that each inhabitant has safe water to drink, and equally as important, has access to it.
The Human Right to Water and Sanitation was explicitly recognized by the United Nations in July 28, 2010 and it acknowledged that clean drinking water and sanitation are essential to the realization of all Human Rights.

ISLAMABAD: All over the world, March is being observed as Water Action Month.
For our future generations, it is important to create awareness about the importance of potable water in the country, as the United Nations observe March 22 of each year as World Water Day.
FAFEN member organisation Integrated Regional Support Program (IRSP), has been observing this day for a number of years.
“Today we have gathered with the determination that these efforts are promoted in Pakistan and masses are informed about the importance and significance of clean drinking water,” IRSP Executive Director Syed Shah Nasir Khisro said in a meeting held on Friday.
“The purpose of observing Water Action Month is that people are provided with a platform where they can collectively pinpoint challenges and plan to cope up with future challenges,” he said.”We want a sustainable and planned change in the society where everyone has the equal rights and has access to clean drinking water and improved health facilities.
Another purpose of observing Water Action Month is that the issue of water and sanitation is prioritised at international level.
Pakistan has ratified Millennium Development Goals and has been able to achieve nine out of 24 of these goals.
Pakistan has also ratified Sustainable Development Goals 2030 and the pace of efforts has to be channelised so that Pakistan does not remain far behind other developing countries,” he added.
The executive director made an appeal to the relevant institutions to make water, sanitation and hygiene a part of their policies.
Published in Daily Times, March 3rd 2018.