A water tank where a waterborne parasite is believed to have come from has been drained overnight after several homeowners in the same street fell ill following a cryptosporidium outbreak.
Around 16,000 households in the Brixham area of Devon were told not use any tap water without boiling and cooling it first or risk becoming unwell. It's now thought a damaged air pipe in a field containing cattle was the potential source for the outbreak. Resident Rita Bristow said only four out of 21 homes in Raddicombe Close, on the outskirts of Brixham, have not had someone fall ill with cryptosporidiosis. It is an illness caused by a parasite, cryptosporidium, and can cause unpleasant symptoms such as diarrhoea and vomiting.
The 65-year-old fell ill about two weeks ago, long before South West Water (SWW) publicly warned residents their water network had been affected. She said: “At first, you think it’s a sickness and diarrhoea bug – you don’t necessarily stop and think that it’s come from the water or where it might have come from, you know, it’s just one of those things. I had awful stomach cramps and every time I ate or drank anything, I felt very nauseous, and then two days of explosive diarrhoea – which is the polite way of putting it.”
Bottled water was delivered to people in Brixham (PA)Mrs Bristow's husband, two children and grandson luckily haven't fallen ill, but many others in the street have. She continued: “There’s 21 houses in all and I’m aware of only four houses where nobody has been affected and 11 that definitely have been." The grandmother had asked the water company to deliver bottled water to them as she didn't want to travel far but was told it wasn't possible as they weren't on a priority list.
On Friday the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) revealed there were 46 cases of the illness which had been confirmed in the town and this was expected to rise. The infection can be picked up directly from the faeces of another person or animal, from swimming in or drinking contaminated water, or by eating contaminated food such as unwashed vegetables.
Michelle Mone's husband gifted Tories 'over £171k' as Covid PPE row rumbles on
David Harris, drought and resilience director at the water company, said: “Over the past four days, we have been working tirelessly to identify and resolve this issue. We are deeply sorry for the impact this disruption is having on daily lives. As part of our ongoing investigation, a damaged valve on private land has been identified as the possible cause, which has since been isolated from the network and repaired.
On Friday the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) revealed there were 46 cases of cryptosporidium which had been confirmed in the town (Chris Slack)“As you would expect, we are urgently investigating how this happened, while working to rule out any other possible sources of contamination elsewhere in the network. The water tank at Hillhead reservoir, where tests confirmed the presence of cryptosporidium earlier this week, was drained overnight and will be thoroughly cleaned today. Once complete, we will start refilling the water tank later today. Officials from the Drinking Water Inspectorate are also on site to monitor progress, and daily testing continues to take place at points throughout our network.”
Conservative MP Anthony Mangnall's constituency includes Brixham, with the Tory politician declaring a "good level of compensation” is provided to local businesses that have lost money because of the waterborne disease outbreak. He explained: “I’ve already been out over the last few days making people aware of the compensation that’s available for businesses and retailers. I will make sure that’s a good level of compensation, and I’ll be there to support businesses.
Hundreds from the town were left ill after drinking the water (PA)“But the other thing is, Brixham is still open for business and it needs support now, more so than ever. We’ve got to help build the town back up, and that’s going to take some time do – and South West Water is going to be absolutely on the line for compensation on that front as well.”
A guest house manager said the waterborne disease outbreak has caused guest cancellations totalling “up to £1,000” and has heard “nothing direct at all” from South West Water. Steve Price, who runs The Station Guesthouse in Brixham, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “So for us at the moment, we are seeing guests actually cancelling.”
He continued: “So we’re trying everything we can to make sure that when guests do come that they feel comfortable and they feel safe. We’re also e-mailing all our guests at the moment to let them know we’re doing all this to try and put them at ease, to encourage them still to come and visit us because of course it’s a lovely area.”
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
