Burst water mains flood north Glasgow streets

The former Stow College building in Cowcaddens, north of the city centre, was cleared after two water mains burst in the area.

The ruptures, on Cowcaddens Road and adjacent New City Road, involved water jets shooting some 30ft into the air from the 20in (50cm) wide pipes.

Scottish Water said a faulty valve, which had put too much pressure on the system, had caused the incident and other bursts elsewhere.

They included at Duke Street in the east end, and at Mount Stuart in Shawlands on the south side.

The Cowcaddens burst also flooded New City Road and a pedestrian underpass close to Cowcaddens Subway station, but Strathclyde Partnership for Transport said the station had not been affected.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said the college in Shamrock Street had suffered “severe flooding” and a “major evacuation” of the area had taken place.

Group Commander Gary Wallace said the college’s basement had been flooded, which contained electrical supplies and a lift shaft, which was being pumped out.

He said: “Large parts of a nearby electricity sub-station were underwater which ScottishPower was called to isolate.”

A spokeswoman for the college said some 90 staff and 500-600 students were evacuated and the building would remain closed tomorrow.

Police Scotland said water levels in the area were receding after the main was isolated.

Scottish Water said: “There is a burst 20in main on New City Road. A repair squad are on site and are working hard to complete repairs here.

“Customers here may experience loss of water supply, low pressure, and discoloured water.”

It said the Duke Street incident had forced the closure of the road between Shettleston Road and East Wellington Street for repairs.

Glasgow City Council closed nearby St Anne’s Primary School after it lost its water supplies because of the incident.

A spokesman for Scottish Water said some 3,000 people had been affected by the incidents.

He said: “An issue with our pressure management system resulted in a number of burst water mains in the Glasgow area.

“We have been working since the early hours of this morning to get the water supply restored to customers.

“We have received around 3,000 calls since the issue started affecting customers.

“We are investigating the cause of the issue with our pressure management system and will work to identify how it can be avoided in future.

“There has been some flooding at Glasgow Kelvin College along with the nearby underpass.

“Work is under way to clear the flood waters and we also have a team of engineers on site working to get the college re-opened as soon as possible.

“The repair work is nearing completion as we restore normal service to customers.

Some customers may be experiencing a temporary loss of their water supply or low pressure. This will be remedied shortly.