FRUSTRATIONS mount for residents in the upper Itchen Valley as they faced a second weekend with intermittent water supply and burst pipes, following days of sub-zero temperatures.

And the problems are continuing today.

After a week of low pressure and outages due to the Easton Pumping Station failure, residents of Itchen Abbas, Easton, Martyr Worthy, Chilland, and other villages woke up Friday morning (January 19) to discover black ice from two burst pipes covering sections of the B3047, posing a dangerous hazard to motorists.

According to residents, as the morning traffic got going, the ice was turned to slush and the whole road was covered making it extremely perilous.

One resident of Itchen Abbas, who asked not to be named, said: "They brought in tankers later on Saturday 20th to top up our system so there was water intermittently flowing the taps of the Itchen Valley for the rest of the weekend. They finished fixing the leaks on Sunday afternoon and we thought it was all over. Imagine our horror when the residents of Itchen Abbas woke up to just a trickle of water again on Monday 22nd, a third consecutive morning without enough water pressure to have a shower. This is an entirely new problem, not even yet showing yet as a live incident on their website. They say it was reported earlier this morning by Starbucks at Popham Services and that engineers are on site. There is no estimate for the fix."

The problem on Friday was reported to Southern Water, but crews remained absent at the scene for more than six hours.

READ MORE: Further water shortages reported in Winchester

By then, traffic had turned the ice to slush, creating a treacherous section on the road.

With concerns over public safety, residents contacted the police, who confirmed Southern Water's responsibility for addressing the hazard.

Saturday brought little relief, with residents facing trickling water at homes.

Southern Water's website acknowledged a major pipe replacement on Chillandham Lane, potentially taking "some time".

However, no information has been given regarding the burst pipe on Bridgetts Lane.

The resident said: "Our water bills are not small and Southern Water like to brag about all the investment they are making into the network but I can't help thinking these problems might have been avoided with more money spent on preventative maintenance. They might also have been less likely to pollute our rivers and seas with raw sewage discharges."

A spokesperson for Southern Water said: “We’re sorry customers in Kings Worthy, Easton and Martyr Worthy have experienced low pressure or no water.

“Our teams repaired a burst near Martyr Worthy yesterday (Friday, January 19) and are continuing to work on another burst in the area today (Saturday, January 20). Both of these bursts were as a result of the colder weather we’re experiencing.

“We recognise some customers may have had lower pressure than usual or experienced outages, we are using tankers to help inject more water into the network and help restore supply.

"These repairs are unrelated to the issues that happened earlier in the week.”

SEE ALSO: B3047 closed in Easton after burst pipe

Meanwhile, Hampshire County Council has announced the closure of two roads due to burst pipes in Easton.

B3047 is currently closed at the junction of Chapel Lane and Church Lane, impacting traffic in both directions.

Chapel Lane itself is closed between the B3047 junction and the Cricketers Inn.