Yahoo News Bottled water station now in Brixham for cryptosporidium victims
South West Water (SWW) has confirmed this morning that it has now set up a bottled water station in Brixham which is at the centre of an outbreak of cryptosporidium. Yesterday, May 15, it confirmed it had detected 'small traces' of the organism in Alston and the Hillhead area of the coastal town - less than 24 hours after stating it was safe to drink the water after all its water supply tests had come back clear.
A water station was set up at Broadsands Car Park in Paignton - a four-mile journey from Brixham - yesterday for people to collect uncontaminated drinking water. It opened from 7pm to 10pm and opened again today at 6am and will remain open until 9pm.
A new collection point is now available at Freshwater Quarry Car Park in Blackball Lane, Brixham. It opened at 10am and will stay open until 9pm. SWW staff are said to be delivering bottled water to vulnerable customers who may be unable to get to the collection point and to those listed as Priority Customers.
Read next:
It has been reported that some residents have been making trips to Paignton to collect bottled water and distribute them to those who have been unable to get there.
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, SWW said: "Customers in the Alston and Hillhead areas of its local water network, which supplies customers in Brixham, Boohay, Kingswear, Roseland and North West Paignton, we have set up a second bottled water collection point.
"From 10am this morning our team are ready to greet you at Freshwater Quarry car park TQ5 8BA, and continue to provide the same at Broadsands car park, TQ4 6HX. In the meantime, we are delivering bottled water to vulnerable customers. For all inquiries please DM us and our team will get back to you as soon as we can."
SWW has not provided a list of affected postcodes. Residents in affected areas continue to be advised to boil water before drinking it.
Today, Eden Park Primary School in Brixham closed as it said it could not safely open for students without clean drinking water. Torbay Council is not aware of any other school closures and is working with SWW to ensure early years settings receive bottled water.
Locals have reported local shops and supermarkets have recently been selling out of water. The Spar confirmed yesterday it was bringing in increased supplies.
The latest data supplied by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) was publicised yesterday, May 15, when it announced 22 confirmed cases. It is not clear exactly where those people live other than the 'majority' are in Brixham.
According to social media, those affected are not just local residents but those who have visited the area recently on day trips and holidays. The source of the outbreak is confirmed as being in the drinking water.
The number of confirmed cases is expected to continue to rise over the coming days with hundreds of people continuing to report on social media having had or still experiencing symptoms associated with the parasite.
