Three major water leaks were covered over by county council contractors resurfacing a St Albans street.
Torrents of water are still gushing down Cavendish Road, in the Fleetville area, but representatives from Herts county council contractors have left the scene.
Residents watched in disbelief as workmen covered the leaks with asphalt, leaving many households without water.
Affinity Water has been informed that there are medium severity leaks in the road, and are expected on the scene later today, at which point they will have to dig up the road again to fix the problems.
District council leader Cllr Chris White, who represents the Clarence ward, visited residents to arrange for them to receive emergency water supplies from SADC if required.
He said: "This is astonishing bungling by Eurovia working directly for the county council. And where are Affinity Water? There are houses with no water supply - this constitutes an emergency!"
Phil Bibby, executive member for highways and transport, said: “Hertfordshire County Council is extremely regretful that this incident should have occurred and would like to extend a full apology to those affected. It is taking this incident seriously and investigating in full with Affinity Water to get things made right as soon as possible.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here