Burst water pipe in Telford closes schools and nurseries
Ten schools and nurseries are shut and some 3,500 homes without water following a burst water pipe.
Schools in the Madeley and Broseley areas are closed because of the burst, which happened early on Sunday, hitting supplies in Telford, Shropshire.
Severn Trent Water said 20,000 homes were originally affected, but it had worked to restore supplies to most.
Water has been restored to 1,000 homes but the company said the earliest the pipe will be repaired is midnight.
It has delivered 120,000 litres of free bottled water to Tesco in Madeley, Ironbridge Museum of the Gorge and William Brookes School, in Much Wenlock.
Water collection sites will be open until 22:00 BST.
The firm said overnight repairs to the 21in (53cm) underground pipe were hampered by poor weather and its awkward location.
"The repair has been particularly tricky as the pipe is very deep underground and, before we could start to dig, we had to cut back nearby trees," a spokesperson said.
The burst left a 7ft hole. Checks had to be made to a nearby gas pipe to ensure it was not damaged.
A spokesman for Severn Trent said: "We're happy to say that we've got the water back on for another 1,000 customers and everyone else still without water may see their supplies coming and going throughout the day as we work on the repair."
The southbound slip road from the A442 Queensway to the A442 Brockton Way is closed and drivers have been urged to avoid the area.