Bamfurlong burst water main affects 12,000 homes
Twelve thousand homes and businesses in Gloucestershire lost their water supply for several hours after a 15in (38cm) main burst.
Severn Trent Water said the incident at Bamfurlong, early on Thursday, affected customers in Cheltenham and Winchcombe.
Twenty people were rescued from floods at a motel and seven schools in the area were closed.
At 15:50 BST Severn Trent said the supply was "gradually being restored" to 2,000 customers still without water.
Earlier water was restored to an estimated 10,000 properties, however Severn Trent said customers "may be experiencing a difference in pressure levels at this time".
Water was moved from other areas into Cheltenham and tankers were deployed to bring water into the area.
"There has been a reduction in calls from customers without water. Severn Trent engineers are working hard to restore supplies as quickly as possible," a spokesperson for the water company said.
"We apologise to our customers for the inconvenience this has caused," the company added.
A Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service spokeswoman said it was called to reports of a large flood outside of the Briarfields Motel on the B4063 in Cheltenham just after 05:40 BST on Thursday.
"Firefighters led 20 people to safety from the motel and adjoining caravan park to dry land," the spokeswoman said.
Six schools were closed on Thursday as a result of the burst.
A Gloucestershire County Council spokeswoman said it would not be known until the morning whether the affected schools would be open on Friday.