Information on Compensation Payments relating to the burst water main in Broughton, Flintshire
About your compensation
How your compensation has been calculated
We know that water doesn’t reach every home in the same way. It depends on location for example during an incident homes on higher ground may lose water sooner and see the water return later, than those on lower ground.
To understand how each home is affected when there’s a water outage, we use special pressure sensors in our water pipes. These show us when water pressure changes, and by combining that with information about your property location, we can work out exactly when supply started or stopped for your property.
This could mean that properties located close to each other may receive different amounts of compensation, as we don’t just look at the wider area, we can see the impact on individual properties.
This method of calculating is the most accurate and fair way available to us.
How the payment is calculated
If your water supply is continuously interrupted for more than 12 consecutive hours, you are entitled to the following compensation:
- £30 once the first full 12-hour period has passed.
- After that, an additional £30 is paid for every further full 12-hour period the supply remains off.
Important Details:
- The clock starts when the water goes off.
- We only begin to assess compensation after the first full 12 hours.
- Any additional time must be a full 12 hours to qualify for another £30. For example:
- If the water is off for 23 hours, you receive £30.
- If it’s off for 25 hours, you still receive £60.
- If it’s off for 36 hours, you receive £90 (£30 for each full 12-hour block).
For household customers:
- Eligible households will be paid £30 in compensation for every 12 hours their supplies have been affected.
- This will automatically be paid to customers in their bank accounts or cheques sent to those without, where there are no arrears.
- Customers in arrears will have the payment credited to their Welsh Water account.
- Compensation will be paid to the account holder/customer who pays the bill. The account holder who is not the occupier will be required to pass the compensation payment onto the occupier.
- Payments will be made within the next 20 working days.
Frequently asked questions for household customers are available here.
Form For business customers:
Each business customer will receive compensation of £75 for every 12 hours their supplies were affected.
In addition, Welsh Water has also agreed to make goodwill contributions for each business customer towards certain costs/loss of gross profit up to £2500.
The eligibility, criteria and process for applying for a goodwill contribution towards costs/loss of gross profit is detailed in this guidance and should be read in full before making an application for a Goodwill Payment.
Affected businesses have a duty to take all reasonable steps to minimise its costs/loss of gross profit.
If, after reading these guidance notes in full, you believe that you meet the eligibility criteria for a goodwill payment over the payment already being issued, please complete the application when available providing the information detailed in this guidance and the Goodwill Application webforms.
Frequently asked questions for business customers are available here.
Eligibility criteria
The following criteria must be met for your business to be eligible to apply for a goodwill contribution payment.
- You are a business customer who has directly affected by the disruption to your water supply in Flintshire.
- You must be a business permanently based at the location of the application e.g. not a mobile/visiting business including taxi services.
- You must be registered as a business and/or pay business charges for your Water & Sewerage
- You would have qualified for the £75 for every 12 hours you were off supply.
- Your business must be registered with the HMRC.
Eligibility for a goodwill contribution and any contribution made is at the discretion of Welsh Water.
Goodwill Application Process
We note that many business customers will have business interruption insurance in place. Where this is the case, claims for any costs/loss of gross profit incurred should be made using your insurance. Where customers have insurance and have used their own insurance, Welsh Water is willing to consider a contribution towards any policy excess with adequate evidence. There is a specific webform to apply for this goodwill contribution, further details below.
All costs/loss of gross profit must be supported by the evidence requested in this guidance and the Goodwill Application webform. Please have the relevant evidence ready before starting the webform.
Following receipt of your application we may invite you to produce additional evidence to substantiate your application or request additional information to support our assessment.
Not Eligible
Please note that the costs/loss of gross profit being considered exclude professional fees, including any associated with completing the application, and any increases in insurance premia. No payments will be made in respect of these two categories.
The below outlines the different Goodwill Application webforms you may complete. You are only permitted to complete one webform per Business Customer.
Loss of Gross Profit Only
Completing this webform will allow goodwill payments towards Loss of Gross Profit incurred by your business affected by the burst water main between Wednesday 13th August 2025 and Sunday 17th August 2025.
You will be required to provide the following information:
- Daily sales net of VAT (if vat registered) for the period from Monday 30th June 2025 to current date (up to date of application submission).
- A copy of the last set of year end accounts including a detailed profit and loss.
Following receipt of your application we may request further information to assist determination of the level of goodwill contribution payable.
Additional Costs to Continue Operating Only
Completion of this webform will allow goodwill payments towards additional costs of operating because of the ‘burst water main” to be considered.
You will be required to provide evidence of relevant invoices/receipts.
Loss of Gross Profit and Additional Costs to Continue Operating
Completion of this webform will allow goodwill payments towards Loss of Gross Profit and additional costs of operating incurred by your business due to the burst water main from Welsh Water between Wednesday 13th August 2025 and Sunday 17th August 2025 to be considered.
You will be required to provide evidence of the following:
- Daily sales net of VAT (if vat registered) for the period from Monday 30th June 2025 to current date (up to date of application submission).
- A copy of the last set of year end accounts including a detailed profit and loss.
Following receipt of your application we may request further information to assist determination of the level of goodwill contribution payable.
Note: Applications are not permissible for the same dates for both ‘Loss of Gross Profit’ and ‘Additional Costs to Continue Operating’ (you can either apply for ‘Loss of Gross Profit’ or ‘Additional Costs to Continue Operating’ for any given day). It is envisaged that applications for ‘Loss of Gross Profit’ and ‘Additional Costs to Continue Operating’ will only take place where a customer stayed open and incurred extra costs but subsequently had to close.
Contribution to your insurance excess
Completion of this webform will allow goodwill payments towards the insurance excess incurred following settlement of an insurance claim your business has made relating to the ‘burst water main” to be considered.
You will be required to provide evidence of the excess and that a claim relating to this 'burst water main' event has been successfully paid.
Declaration
A declaration must be completed and signed by an authorised signatory of your business, e.g. the business owner where a sole trader; a partner of a registered or unregistered partnership; or an officer of a limited company.
What happens next
Upon receipt of your application and supporting documentation, you will receive an acknowledgement by email.
We aim to assess and decide on your application within 20 working days from receipt.
These timescales may be longer depending on the value and complexity of your application as well as the speed of response from you in replying to requests. If this is the case, we will let you know.
Welsh Water may appoint third parties to assist or complete the assessment of any applications. Appointment of third parties will be made without prior notification. These costs will be met by Welsh Water.