Scottish Water has been criticised after scores of people in Highland Perthshire were left without supplies.
Many have been cut off since Christmas and say they have been given little or no help by the company.
Frustrated residents in Pitlochry and Blair Atholl contacted The Courier in a desperate attempt to see the problem resolved.
An initial response from the utility company suggested that most of the pipes affected in Pitlochry are part of a private supply, which it is not obliged to deal with. However, it gave assurances that it is working on those that are under Scottish Water control.
Pitlochry father-of-one and local pub owner Zsolt Balogh has been struggling to cope without fresh water since Christmas Eve, when the supply to his home ran dry.
He said, “I have been phoning the call centre two or three times a day to try and get someone to come out and have a look. They kept saying they would send someone out, but when I spoke to them on Saturday they said they didn’t have enough staff to do that.
“I have also been told that the job hasn’t been registered on their system yet, so they don’t even know when they will get anyone out.
“There was someone here on Sunday, but they were just taking a look at a burst pipe on the main street and told me that they couldn’t do anything about my problem.”
The lack of water has been causing significant problems for Mr Balogh and he has been forced to send his young daughter away to stay with a friend in Perth.UpsetHe told The Courier that because she doesn’t fully understand what is happening she has been “deeply upset” by being away from her family.
He has also been left out of pocket by daily trips to buy bottled water, as he claims Scottish Water failed to provide this.
“This is really affecting my quality of life,” added Mr Balogh. “I’ve had to ask friends if I can use their washing machine just so I have enough clean clothes to get by, as well as using their shower. This is a really, really big problem.”
Following more recent phone calls to the Scottish Water call centre, Mr Balogh has been advised to contact a plumber, which he is unhappy about.
“I will have to call someone out to have a look at the problem and pay for them out of my own pocket. I don’t think this is right at all because I am not the only property affected, so surely this is something that Scottish Water should be dealing with?
“I am very unhappy about the whole thing and I don’t think they have been doing anything about it at all.”
Several miles north in Blair Atholl, residents are experiencing a similar problem.
Although a pallet of bottled water was delivered on Sunday, local mother-of-four Georgina Farron says it isn’t enough.
Her home has been without water since Boxing Day — of major concern as three of her children have a medical condition which means they must observe strict levels of hygiene.
She said, “We have gone more than seven days without fresh water, so this has been a massive worry for us. Despite constantly being on the phone to them since it happened, Scottish Water didn’t send anyone out to inspect it until Sunday.
“We only got bottled water then as well, which I think is ridiculous because they took less time than that to send supplies to Northern Ireland. There are a lot of elderly people and families with young children, so Blair Atholl should have been made a priority.”
Mrs Farron claims the inspection uncovered problems with the stopcock, which apparently isn’t deep enough, meaning it freezes over easily.
“If we are going to face a succession of winters like this one, then we can expect the water to be off for even longer periods of time,” she continued. “It’s absolutely farcical and a big embarrassment for Scottish Water.
“These pipes have only been in place for four years, so it’s not like they are old and falling apart, which might explain what was happening. There is clearly a structural problem with them.”
Although many homes in Blair Atholl are still without water, several residents have been unaffected.
A spokesman said, “Scottish Water has been working throughout Scotland to deal with the unprecedented demands on our service.
“We are committed to restoring water supplies as quickly as possible. We understand this situation has been very difficult for our customers and apologise for any inconvenience caused.
“While many customers are returned to supply, the deeply frozen ground is still affecting many pipes — mainly private — but also some on the Scottish Water network which we are addressing as quickly as we can.”
He said Scottish Water staff would be going door-to-door in Blair Atholl to establish all those affected.
“Scottish Water is aware of a number of households in Blair Atholl and Bridge of Tilt which are currently without water supply as a result of the effects of the extreme weather conditions. It is clear that this issue does not affect everyone but is dispersed.
“Our operatives are therefore going door to door in order to establish which individual customers are without water in order that we can address this issue. Several thousand litres of bottled water has already been delivered to the community in order to provide an alternative supply where necessary.
“We would like to take this opportunity to apologise for any inconvenience which may have been caused to our customers as a direct result of the prolonged cold weather.”
Further assurances have been given to residents by North Tayside MSP John Swinney, who has been in touch with Scottish Water chairman Ronnie Mercer.
He said SNP Councillor Kate Howie was also working to identify those affected, before reporting back to the utility.