Yahoo News Brixham parasite outbreak still impacting over 2,000 households
Just over a month after a parasite outbreak was confirmed to have contaminated water supplies in the Alston and the Hillhead area of Brixham, South West Water (SWW), boiled water notices are still in force for more than 2,000 households. Today, June 14, SWW has lifted boil notices for 21 more customers.
It has assured tests have revealed there is now no need to first boil water for those supplied off the Hillhead to Boohay main and they can return to using their tap water as normal. However, the remaining 2,073 households in the wider Hillhead, upper Brixham and Kingswear areas still need to continue to boil their drinking water before consumption because they are served by a separate system that is still being flushed and cleaned.
Cryptosporidium levels within the area that remains contaminated are said to be reducing. Boil first notices were issued on May 15 when SWW confirmed it had detected 'small traces' of the organism in Alston and Hillhead.
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The previous day it stated that all its water supply tests had come back clear and customers were told to continue to use their water as normal - despite hundreds of people reporting they were suffering from sickness and diarrhoea. The cause of the outbreak is believed to be a damaged air valve on private land. The last announcement from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) stated there had been 100 cases of cryptosporidium.
Earlier this week SWW contacted 34 properties in the Hillhead area to inform them directly that the water supply to their properties was safe to following extensive cleansing of the network. The decision to lift 21 more boil notices is said to have been based on work carried out by water quality scientists who have been working closely with SWW's analytical facilities and public health professionals, and has been made in line with principles agreed with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and the local authority's Environmental Health department.
SWW has said it has thoroughly cleaned its water supply tanks and added a double layer of protection using UV and specialist microfilters to provide additional barriers. The water company promised water quality monitoring will continue across the network for the foreseeable future.
Laura Flowerdew, SWW's chief customer and digital officer, said: “We want to thank our customers, visitors and local businesses for their continued patience while our teams work hard to clean the network and put interventions in place to prevent this from happening again. We are pleased to be able to remove the boil water notice for 21 customers along the Hillhead to Boohay main.
"We want to reassure everyone that we have taken all the necessary steps, including rigorous sampling, to be sure their water is safe to use as normal. We are working around the clock to lift the boil water notice for the remaining customers in the Hillhead, Upper Brixham and Kingswear area.
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"Cryptosporidium levels are reducing as a result of our work but we will only lift the notice further when we are completely sure it is safe to do so."
Customers and businesses who no longer need to boil their water before consuming it will be contacted directly today by SWW. Bottled water continues to be delivered to all affected households across the boil water notice area.
Bottled water stations are still being provided at Freshwater Quarry Public Car Park, Broadsands Car Park, and Churston Car Boot Sale Field between 7am and 9pm every day. If any customers or businesses are unsure whether they remain under the Boil Water Notice, they can check using South West Water’s postcode checker at www.southwestwater.co.uk/household/help-support/in-your-area/service-updates
