Locals have complained of empty shelves and missed cancer appointments after a burst pipe left thousands of homes without water.
Schools were forced to close in west Devon today as taps ran dry across the region.
South West Water said around 9,500 houses in the area were still experiencing a loss of water supply or lower water pressure than usual.
Supplies were hit by the burst pipe on Monday and engineers are working to fix the problem.
It is understood the water will return tomorrow morning.
Speaking to MailOnline, the MP for Plymouth Moor View gave his account of the havoc.
Fred Thomas said: 'Yesterday was hard but it was a bank holiday.
'Today it was everyone back to work, back to school, businesses were trying to open. People had important medical appointments to attend.
South West Water said around 9,500 properties in west Devon were still experiencing a loss of water supply or lower water pressure than usual
Speaking to MailOnline, the MP for Plymouth Moor View, Fred Thomas, gave his account of the havoc
'My office corresponded with one constituent who had a long-awaited full body cancer check.
'They were actually unable to attend because they couldn’t shower.
'We’ve heard from several small businesses including a pub that were unable to open, which is obviously a massive hit to their trade.
'There are lots of people who are at home and are less mobile or have higher needs in their household who haven’t had water delivered by SSW, which they absolutely should have.
'All of this is in the context of a lack of communication about expected timelines.'
Mr Thomas added he had had a 1-1 meeting with the SSW CEO today.
He reported the company expect to be able to recharge the network overnight and for residents to wake up tomorrow with full access. A total of £200 is also expected to go as credit for all affected households, with businesses getting bespoke compensation packages.
While the main has been fixed, supply issues are continuing for many, with locals reporting that supermarket shelves have been stripped clean of all water.
Locals have been arriving in their cars and on foot, with one man even bringing a wheelbarrow to load up with the water
Water collection points are in place at four sites across the area, with free water being handed out by South West Water employees
Around 13,000 homes were initially affected by the outage in postcode areas PL6 PL19 and PL20, and three schools have been closed.
Amongst those closed is Horrabridge Primary and Nursery School, with a spokesperson telling parents: 'Morning everyone, apologies for the delay but we have been trying to contact South West Water for further information however they haven't been able to give us any further information so with that in mind we will unfortunately have to remain closed today.
'Water collection points are open and available, we will keep you all updated of we are given further information.'
Residents are asked to attend collection points at George Park,Knightstone Tearooms, Ride and Bere Alston Bowling Club and Morrisons in Tavistock, where packs of bottled water are being handed out. These will remain open until 10pm today.
Locals have been arriving in their cars and on foot, with one man even bringing a wheelbarrow to load up with the water.
Homeowners criticised South West Water's communication with affected households, describing it online as 'abysmal'.
'We are carefully recharging the network to be able to fully restore supply to our customers,' a South West Water spokeswoman said.
'This is a large and complex system, and it needs to refill properly and safely before we can bring it fully back into supply.
'That's why it may take a bit more time for all customers to see their water return.
'Our absolute priority is getting supplies back to everyone as quickly as we can, and we want to thank customers for their continued patience and understanding.
'We've prioritised support for our most vulnerable customers throughout and will continue to provide bottled water where it's needed.
'Several bottled water stations remain open in the area for anyone who needs them while the system refills.'
Mr Thomas said earlier today residents being without water for more than 24 hours was 'unacceptable' and said he had written to the company demanding urgent action, including compensation.
'The water outage is continuing to cause major disruption and chaos for residents across Plymouth, with thousands of people without water,' he said.
'We must do better in crisis situations like this to make sure residents can keep getting on with their lives.'
He wrote to South West Water CEO Susan Davy, demanding answers on behalf of his constituents.
