Devon: South West Water refuses to say when boil water notice will be lifted after disease outbreak
A South West Water boss has refused to give a timeline on when a notice to boil tap water will be lifted after a parasite was found in a key reservoir.
Speaking to Sky News, Laura Flowerdue, the company’s chief customer officer, confirmed the suggestion it was likely a broken air valve contaminated by animal faeces that had caused the incident which left dozens ill and thousands unable to drink tap water.
However, she refused to give a timeframe on how long the incident would run on for – leaving thousands of residents facing an uncertain future.
She said: “We’re still working through the operational processes to ensure we can absolutely link the root causes.
“We then need to take steps to repair any damage and then make sure we flush any issues through the network… before we lift the notice.”
When pressed on how long it would take, she said: “We are working hard to be able to give more decisive information about that timeline.
“At this stage we absolutely want to ensure we’re giving the right information to customers.”
Collection points for bottled water have been set up by South West Water
It comes after residents in parts of south Devon were told to boil their drinking water on Wednesday after the water firm found “small traces” of the parasite cryptosporidium – which causes cryptosporidiosis – in the Hillhead reservoir.
At first, it said the water was safe to drink, but then backtracked and had to issue a boil notice to 16,000 households and businesses in Brixham, Boohay, Kingswear, Roseland and North West Paignton.
The UK Health Security Agency said 22 people are confirmed to have contracted the disease, with as many as 70 other cases under investigation.
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What’s the waterborne disease in Devon?
Ms Flowerdue said: “We have identified that there is a damaged air valve on the network near the Hillhead Reservoir – but we absolutely want to make sure that’s the only source [of the contamination].
“We understand this a valve on one of the pipes heading towards the reservoir in a farmer’s field, there are cattle in the field and it’s a possibility that’s the source of the contamination.”
South West Water previously apologised for the disease outbreak in Devon after the parasite was found in the key reservoir.
The water company belatedly increased the compensation offered to affected customers from £15 to £100 to “say sorry for the stress and worry the situation has caused”.
Read more:
What we know about parasite found in Devon drinking water
Warning to boil drinking water in Devon area
Water firm apologises after parasite detected in reservoir
South West Water was unable to say when the issue would be resolved
Amid the chaos, one primary school closed its doors due to not having safe running drinking water.
The local council confirmed Eden Park Primary School shut its doors Thursday – but said it was thought to be the only school to have done so.
Reporting from Brixham, Sky News also found one woman had to rush her son, 13, to the hospital.
Meanwhile, GPs in the area have seen an increased number of calls.
Elsewhere, at collection points for bottled water run by South West Water, families are only allowed a maximum of six litres – but demand is high, with the queue for one site stretching over half a mile.
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Totnes MP Anthony Mangnall has been outspoken about the incident affecting his constituents.
He pushed the water company for greater “clarification” and communication over what was going on and warned the boil water notice could last “at least a further six or seven days”.
Speaking to Sky News, one local said: “What do I make of this? I can’t really say it on the news can I?”
The crash involving a cargo ship and oil tanker off the East Yorkshire coast is bad news for the sea, fish and air in the area. What we don’t know yet is quite how bad it will be.
That depends on a few things – but the speed of the collision, clouds of filthy black smoke from the fires and the leaked fuel are certainly worrying.
Firstly, it matters what was on board those two massive vessels.
Follow live: Jet fuel spilling into sea after tanker collision
Analytics firm Vortexa estimates the 183m-long tanker was carrying about 130,000 barrels of jet fuel (kerosene), which is now leaking into the sea.
Jet fuel is not as sticky or viscous as heavier types of oil, thankfully, so it’s less likely to clog the feathers and fur of birds and seals. It can also be broken down by natural bacteria.
But it can still poison fish and kill animals and plants on the shoreline if it makes its way into the soil there.
The Marine Conservation Society has pointed out the site in the Humber estuary is close to some protected areas and is important for seabirds and harbour porpoises.
And both ships will have been powered by a dirtier, heavier kind of oil – likely marine gas oil or heavy fuel oil, though we don’t know the details yet.
Heavy fuel oil is nasty stuff.
Pic: Bartek Smialek/PA
Cheap, thick and tar-like, it can smother animals and is very dangerous if they consume it, and is extremely difficult to clean up. Let’s hope this isn’t creeping around the North Sea already.
We don’t know how much of either the jet fuel or the oil powering the ships has leaked, or how much will be burned off in the violent fires – which themselves are ploughing black smoke and filthy air pollution into the surrounding atmosphere.
And we don’t know for sure what was on the Solong cargo ship and if, or what, will go into the sea.
Cargo ship ‘had sodium cyanide on board’
It was carrying 15 containers of sodium cyanide among other cargo, according to a report from maritime data provider Lloyd’s List Intelligence.
The container vessel was also transporting an unknown quantity of alcohol, said the casualty report – an assessment of incidents at sea – citing a message from the local coastguard.
Plastic takes hundreds of years to break down, and potentially can choke or trap animals.
Many of us have seen that uncomfortable viral video of a turtle having a straw yanked out of its nose. Previous accidents on cargo ships have seen plastic Lego pieces wash up in Cornwall 25 years later.
Read more:
How UK North Sea platforms dump gas
Secondly, the impact depends on the sea and weather conditions around it.
Things like the wind and currents affect how an oil spill spreads in the sea. Scientists can draw up computer models to simulate how the oil could behave.
Thirdly, it matters how quickly this is all tackled and then cleaned up, if necessary, and if it can be.
Usually the slower the response, the worse the impact.
The coastguard has said the incident “remains ongoing” and it has started assessing the “likely counter pollution response” that will be required.
Such a response might need the help of numerous public bodies: the government environment department, the transport department, the Environment Agency and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.
So for now the best we can hope for – aside from the welfare of the people involved – is that not all the oil is spilled or burnt, that conditions are calm and that rescuers and those cleaning up can work swiftly.
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