Quick Answer

While water repairs are ongoing, many organisations use temporary toilets, handwashing facilities and welfare units to stay operational and compliant.
This is common in retail parks, offices, healthcare estates, education sites and live refurbishment projects where shutting down is costly.
Temporary provision buys time and reduces disruption until permanent services are restored.

Written by the team at euroloo, supporting commercial and construction sites with welfare and site facilities across the UK.

Temporary Solutions While Water Repairs Are Carried Out

Water repairs don’t always run to schedule.

Even relatively minor issues – such as burst mains, pressure loss or contamination alerts – can leave a site without water for hours or days. In many cases, the repair timeline is outside the occupier’s control.

This raises an important operational question: how do organisations continue operating safely and legally while water repairs are carried out?

Why waiting for repairs isn’t always viable

Delaying action during a water outage can quickly lead to:

Staff being sent home unnecessarily
Reduced or halted trading
Compliance risks
Escalation to senior management
Reputational damage

Experienced facilities and estates teams focus on buying time, not waiting for certainty.

Common temporary solutions used during water outages

Temporary provision can be scaled to suit the site, duration and level of occupancy.

Temporary toilets

Typically used when fixed toilets are unavailable, drainage remains operational and immediate welfare cover is required.

Temporary handwashing facilities

Important where hygiene standards must be maintained and staff or public access continues.

Welfare units

Often deployed where staff remain on site for extended periods and operations must continue safely.

These solutions are usually installed externally, require minimal disruption, and can be removed once permanent services are restored.

Who uses temporary solutions in practice?

Retail parks and shopping centres
Offices and commercial premises
Schools, colleges and universities
Healthcare estates
Logistics and distribution centres
Live refurbishment and maintenance projects

In many sectors, temporary provision is standard operating practice rather than an emergency workaround.

How long can temporary solutions remain in place?

Temporary measures can support sites for:

A single day
Several days
Multiple weeks if required

The duration depends on repair complexity, site layout, occupancy levels and operational requirements.

Planning ahead reduces disruption

Sites that experience water outages more than once often take a proactive approach by:

Pre-agreeing emergency welfare contacts
Establishing rapid deployment procedures
Setting internal escalation thresholds
Planning for continuity rather than reacting under pressure

Key takeaway

Temporary solutions are not a last resort.

They are a professional, accepted way to maintain operations, protect staff and visitors, stay compliant, and reduce disruption while repairs are completed.