All Residents, Cold Water, Communal Services

Hot Water from the Cold Water Taps

Since Monday 4th May 2015 the residents of Goldthorpe building are experiencing a problem with the secondary supply of cold water from the communal water tank. Instead of cold water there is boiling hot water in all taps and toilet cisterns. Many flats have reported the problem but nothing has happened. Please call Camden Council on 020 7974 4444 and report the problem.

UPDATES

  • On the 15th May 2015 at 06:55 we received the following email: Dear Resident,

    I do apologies for the delay in replying to your email.

    Please see the answers to your questions below.

    A: The hot water was directed to then cold supply through the defective mixer tap.

    B: Necessary actions would be taken when required so that the residents do not suffer.
    The water tank is okay for use.

    C: The mixer tap had been in place for a number of years, hence neither days or months.

    Thank you for your enquiry’s I’m hopeful this has now given you all necessary information.


    Kind regards

    John Stow
    Mechanical services manager
    Renewals

  • On the 11th May 2015 at 10:03 we replied to Mr John Stow with the following email: 

    Dear Mr Stow,

    Thank for your reply.

    I would like to have some clarifications about your point 2.

    The cold taps in my toilet and bathroom as well as the water feed for the cisterns are coming from the communal water tank that the council has forced me to pay some time ago. The water from those taps was hot instead of cold.

    This means that the fault with the mixer tap, that your contractors had installed and got faulty very quickly, fed the water tank with hot water and for that reason all the other flats in the block had experienced the same problem.

    If you insist that the communal water tank was not affected by the fault then I will like to know how the pressure from one small mixer tap can supply hot water to 34 flats. That faulty mixer apparently was able to feed all my cold taps at the same time since I had left them open the first day when I was unaware of the problem.

    A. This mixer tap was either a remarkable piece of equipment or it simply redirected the hot water to the communal water tank and consequently to all other flats. Please confirm and provide evidence with pipe diagrams if necessary.

    However if the water tank was contaminated with hot water from the boiler room then I will like to know if the water tank is ok for use or if it needs cleaning.

    B. According to your email one mixer tap can result in the loss of the cold water service. What happens if the fault is inside an unoccupied flat? Will the council check the mixer taps in all 34 flats (102 mixers) or will it leave the residents to suffer until the resident is back?

    C. How long did it take for the tap to get faulty? A couple of days or a few months?

    Looking forward to hear from you.

    Yours sincerely,
    www.curnockestate.com
    www.curnockstreetestate.com

  • On the 11th May 2015 at 08:13 Mr John Stow replied to us with the following email: 

    Dear Resident,

    Thank you for the additional enquiry

    I can confirm the content of item 2 of my previous e mail which makes no mention of tanks . The problem was caused by the failure of the mixer. This effectively joined the hot and cold services at that point allowing for the higher pressure hot water to take the lead

    I can also advise that

    1 Both day to day repairs teams and M&E teams were coordinated in the repair.

    2 The mixer unit installed was a Bristan mixer tap which is recognised as a good quality component . Defects will however occur. The tap was installed by the Council’s contractor

    3 Issues associated with your leasehold tenure may be discussed with the Council’s Tenancy Services team .


    Kind regards

    John Stow
    Mechanical services manager
    Telephone: 020 7974 2046

  • On the 07th May 2015 at 10:25 we replied to Mr John Stow with the following email: 

    Dear Mr Stow,

    Thank you for the update.

    If I understood correctly from your email a faulty mixer tap can result in the hot water to enter the communal water tank and affect 34 flats. In other words, the mixer tap in Flat X has enough pressure to fill the water tank located in the top of the building and continue to fill it for 3 days in row.

    Please confirm that and clarify the following:

    1) Why the First Time right team thinks that the problem is still ongoing? Apparently they are waiting for some spare parts! This indicates that the repairs team and your contractor are unaware of what is going on.

    2) Could you please provide the details of the mixer unit that was installed inside Flat X Goldthorpe and the details of the constructor that have installed it?

    3) Who I will have to talk to about leaseholders compensation due to these failures and frustration?

    Yours sincerely,
    www.curnockestate.com
    www.curnockstreetestate.com

  • On the 07th May 2015 at 10:13 we received the following email from Mr John Stow: 

    Dear Resident
    Thank you for your enquiry
    I am pleased to note that the problem has been resolved and in answer to your questions I can advise that :-
    1 The problem was traced to a mixer unit in an adjacent flat that had developed a fault . The unit was installed new and the fault appears to have developed through usage.
    2 The plumbing and heating at the block are communal systems and by definition therefore interconnected . The lead flow to any outlet will be dictated by the dominant pressure in the system and where mixer valves become defective the dominant pressure will force that supply through co-joined systems. In this case the dominant pressure was in the hot supply.
    3 The Council provides a reactive repairs service and responds to such issues on that basis. Lessons learnt will be applied to new installations .
    Yours sincerely

    John Stow
    Mechanical services manager

  • On the 07th May 2015 at 08:17 we spoke with Owen from First Time Right team: Owen informed us that the problem has not fixed yet and that they are waiting for a spare part to arrive. We also found out that our reference number 1844028/1 was merged with the flat X Goldthorpe where the problem has started.
  • On the 06th May 2015 at 18:45 the service was started to return to normal.
  • On the 06th May 2015 at 14:59 we sent the following to Mr John Stow:

Dear Mr Stow,

1) Could you please clarify if the problem was a faulty tap or a bad plumbing/pipe job? Could you please let us know who has installed the faulty mixing taps or did the plumbing job that created the problem?

2) How can a faulty mixing tap can affect 34 flats? Does this mean that if another resident install a faulty tap everybody has to suffer?

3) What safeguards do you have in place to stop further problems in the future?

Looking forward for the answers in order to avoid further problems in the future.

Yours sincerely,
www.curnockestate.com
www.curnockstreetestate.com

  • On the 06th May 2015 at 14:37 Mr John Stow sent this email to Cllr Robinson:

    Dear Cllr Robinson,
    Quick update re your earlier note aboutthe hot water at all taps in Goldthorpe.
    Following a number of emails investigating the above issue, I’m glad to inform you the fault has been found at X Goldthorpe and whereby we have plumbers going in today to replace that faulty mixing taps.
    Kind regards

    John Stow
    Mechanical services manager

  • On the 06th May 2015 at 12:02, Mr Patrick O’Neil, Head of Service delivery, informed us that:

    “You kindly included me into your earlier and Cllr Robinson has also raised the matter with me
    It is being investigated  by the M&E team who will manage the issue in line with their detailed knowledge of the systems on the estate .
    Please accept my apologies if the initial response was not satisfactory .
    Kind Regards
    Pat O’Neill
    Head of Service Delivery”

  • On the 06th May 2015 at 09:22 and seconds after our phone call we received another call from Joyce Malinki from the repairs team saying that more flats have called. No apology for the waste of time earlier.
  • On the 06th May 2015 at 08:34 we spoke with Joyce Malinki from the repairs team for 44 mins 54 secs but without any result
  • On the 06th May 2015 at 06:33 we spoke with Bill from the emergency repairs team
  • On the 05th May 2015 at 18:38 we spoke with the emergency repairs team
  • On the 05th May 2015 at 12:18 Mr Gary Nicholls informed us that:

From: Gary.Nicholls@camden.gov.uk
To: info@curnockestate.com
Date: 05 May 2015 at 12:18
Subject: RE: Cold water from water tank is Boiling Hot

Dear Resident,

Thank you for your email.

As this is a repair issue I have passed your request to our Right First Time Repairs Team. I have asked they update you directly via email with the details of the job and number.

Kind regards

Gary Nicholls
Estate Services Supervisor

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