Engineers are carrying out final checks on a newly repaired pipe which caused dozens to be without water over the festive period.
All properties in the Strood and Rochester area have running water after 12 days of teams scrambling to fix the leak.
Part of the leak has been patched up along Bryant Road in Strood
Kwik Fit in Gun Lane was the last business to have running water returned.
It forced the garage to turn away customers and workers struggled to safely wash their hands.
“We can’t do it because we have bottles of water, it’s not as easy as just using a tap,” apprentice Benjamin Penfold told KentOnline.
“There’s a lot of oil you have to use and we have a special soap that takes up a lot of the grime and dirt.
“We can’t really use it without hot water or even cold water.”
The Kwik Fit garage in Gun Lane was the last business to have running water returned. Picture: Google
He added: “We’ve had to run everything manually and got a bit more on our plate.
“Not everything can be done, including the normal bits that usually run in the background.”
Problems started last Monday (December 23), when more than 1,000 homes discovered they had little or no water.
The shortage was caused by a burst water main, which is underground and has no signs on the surface – making it harder to locate.
While most woke up on Christmas Day to find it had returned, around 50 properties still had to manage with bottled water.
Apprentice Benjamin Penfold says it is difficult to wash their hands of oils and grime with bottled water
This continued into Boxing Day, with teams working overnight to try and find the source of the leak.
Three days later, on Sunday (December 28), Southern Water said it was continuing to fix a damaged pipe in Strood High Street.
A spokesperson said: “Whilst the repair is taking place, we have installed temporary overland pipes to supply running water to the remaining homes and businesses (apart from Kwik Fit) without water.
“The overland pipes will be removed as soon as the repair is complete and water can be restored as normal.
“We’ll continue to deliver bottled water to Kwik Fit until the repair is complete.”
Engineers worked through the night to find the source of the burst water main. Picture: Southern Water
Nine days after the leak erupted – on New Year’s Eve – engineers finally repaired it.
Today (January 3), the utility company confirmed a team is carrying out some final checks.
“The temporary overland pipe will then be removed over the weekend and all impacted customers will be supplied as normal,” it said.
“If there will be any interruption to supply whilst we switch over, we’ll let our customers know.
“We would like to thank local residents and businesses once again for their patience and understanding whilst we have been working on this complex repair over the Christmas period.”