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3 months ago
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Thousands of homes in Brixham are still without safe water nearly a month after a parasite outbreak left residents suffering with illness.
At least 2,500 homes in the coastal Devon town are continuing to boil their own water after it was discovered that water contaminated with infected faeces was making its way into the drinking supply.
As a result of the outbreak, at least 100 residents have been infected with cryptosporidium and forced to endure days of diarrhoea and agonising stomach cramps.
South West Water apologised 'for the disruption and concern' caused by the 'complex and detailed operational work' they were carrying out to resolve the issue - having admitted the drinking water was unsafe on May 15.
But many locals are furious at the response by the water firm, after some members of the community were left hospitalised having fallen ill with the disease at the beginning of May.
Thousands of homes in Brixham are still without safe water nearly a month after a parasite outbreak in the town
At least 2,500 homes in the coastal Devon town (pictured) are continuing to boil their own water after it was discovered that water contaminated with infected faeces was making its way into the drinking supply
Tanya Matthews (pictured) was the first person to uncover the outbreak, after she started feeling unwell on May 6 - but only started to worry about the quality of her tap water a week later
South West Water apologised 'for the disruption and concern' caused by the 'complex and detailed operational work' they were carrying out to resolve the issue
Howard Heather, an upper Bixham resident, was taken to Torbay Hospital after becoming unwell at the beginning of May.
He told the BBC: 'I did feel rough. The diarrhoea and vomiting was like nothing I’ve ever experienced before, really violent.
'It’s such an awful bug and it takes a while to get over.
'I’m aggrieved by it and I think it was totally preventable. So, my feelings towards South West Water are quite negative.'
Local woman Tanya Matthews said the son of a neighbour in Ocean View Drive, Brixham, was in hospital for a whole weekend at the start of May on an IV drip because he was 'so dehydrated'.
But because cryptosporidium hadn't been confirmed at that point, he wasn't tested or treated for it.
She said: 'We have a hot tub in the back garden that we use to regulate my autistic six-year-old boy - but we haven't been able to use that.
'My six-year-old loves going under the water to count how long he can hold his breath for, but you just can't do that, you can't risk him swallowing any.'
Tanya was the first person to uncover the outbreak, after she started feeling unwell on May 6 - but only started to worry about the quality of her tap water a week later.
South West Water then discovered their water supply had been contaminated and an estimated 16,000 households were told to boil their water.
South West Water discovered their water supply had been contaminated and an estimated 16,000 households were told to boil their water on May 15
Local woman Tanya Matthews (pictured) said the son of a neighbour in Ocean View Drive, Brixham, was in hospital for a whole weekend at the start of May on an IV drip because he was 'so dehydrated'
Whole streets in the town have been infected , with victims forced to endure days of diarrhoea and agonising stomach cramps
South West Water apologised to customers and gave them detailed advice on how to eliminate illness-causing organisms from their water
Ms Matthews said: 'When I was on the school playground I heard about people being ill, I noticed there were quite a few people unwell.
What is Cryptosporidium?
Cryptosporidium, also known as Crypto, are tiny parasites that live in water and enter the body through food or drink.
They cause an illness called Cryptosporidiosis, with the most common symptom being watery diarrhoea. It can also cause nausea, vomiting and fever.
Symptoms usually last about two weeks, but can go on longer. Young children and people with weak immune systems are more likely to be more seriously affected.
The parasites are protected by a thick outer shell that allows them to survive outside the body. In cool, moist conditions, they can live for several months.
They are also resistant to chlorine, so can live in swimming pools for up to a week.
Outbreaks of cryptosporidiosis have been linked to drinking or swimming in contaminated water. Foods prepared with contaminated water, such salads that are washed with it, can also be a danger.
Farmers who handle livestock can also be at risk, as the infection can be caught from cows, goats and sheep – particularly lambs.
Once they are swallowed, the Cryptosporidium shells break open and the parasites are released.
However, some of the parasites will pass through a person's digestive system intact, so infection can occur by ingesting poo particles from an infected person, such as by changing nappies of a poorly baby.
Infected people can shed up to 100 million parasites in a single bowel movement. Swallowing just ten is enough to get ill.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) provides advice on controlling outbreaks of cryptosporidiosis and monitors outbreaks to find the source.
'Then I started being poorly on May 6, and then it got to May 13 and my mouth just tasted horrendous.
'The only thing I thought could be causing it was the water - every time I was drinking more water, the taste in my mouth got worse.'
After speaking to South West Water on the phone, who denied their involvement, she posted her concerns in a local Facebook group.
The post racked up 1,200 replies from locals - many experiencing the same illness.
She added: 'I put my symptoms on the post and asked if anyone else was sick and feeling the same way.
'When I woke up the next morning, there were 1,200 comments from people with exactly the same symptoms as me - some with more.
'Because I put the post on Facebook, and I'd also put on there that I'd spoken to South West Water about the cryptosporidium, a lot of people started phoning them.
'I think they got inundated with so many phone calls, which then prompted them to take swifter action.'
A South West Water staff member visited her home the following day on May 14 and took a sample of tap water for testing.
'At this point they were still telling people that the water was safe and all their tests are coming back negative', Ms Matthews continued.
'I was trying to tell people: don't drink it, it's not safe. But people responded by saying that South West Water have said it's fine, so we're going to carry on drinking it.
'And on Wednesday morning, they found out that there was cryptosporidium - but didn't inform the public until that afternoon.
'I don't know why they didn't, as a precaution, on the Monday or the Tuesday put a boil water notice on until they found out whether it was the water or not.
'I had severe diarrhoea, nausea all the time, horrendous stomach cramps and I felt lightheaded.'
South West Water reportedly told Ms Matthews that they're treating their water with UV light and putting filters at strategic points.
She added: 'They've flushed the system many, many times - and they were still getting positive readings for crypto.
A South West Water free water station as they continue to supply residents with bottled water after a parasite got into the water supply
Furious business owners warned water company bosses they must 'bear the full cost' of compensation for the Brixham poisoning scandal
Seaside B&Bs and self-catering cottages in the south Devon town are facing a wave of cancellations from holidaymakers fearful of exposing their families to the waterborne parasite cryptosporidium
'They've done ice pigging too. The readings were coming back negative after they've done it, but today they've had a positive reading in the network again.'
She told of how local tourism, the lifeblood of Brixham, has been impacted by coverage of the water scandal - with people ditching their holidays.
'I've got a neighbour who's got an Airbnb in town and she had a six-week booking through the summer holidays, and those people have cancelled it.
'There are a lot of restaurants and eatery places down here, they've all been affected by people cancelling because they're worried about catching crypto.
'But it was never ever in the town itself, so people don't need to be afraid of coming here on holiday.'
David Harris, Incident Director at South West Water said: 'We completed the latest stage of flushing on the Hillhead network last night and we continue to flush to remove any last residual cryptosporidium across the area.
'We have put multiple interventions in place to resolve this issue as quickly as possible – this work will protect the network impacted by cryptosporidium preventing any new contamination.
People were collecting supplies at Freshwater car park in Brixham after the parasite discovery
Utility firm South West Water has admitted that drinking its water was unsafe
'To completely flush any remaining cryptosporidium out of the system, high velocity and fast water speeds are required as well as intricate and aggressive scrubbing of the larger network pipes - through which high volumes of water flow at lower speeds.
'The more we flush, the closer we are to removing residual cryptosporidium. We are using multiple, industry leading approaches to completely remove it.
'Our absolute priority is the health of our customers and visitors in Hillhead, Upper Brixham and Kingswear. We appreciate this is taking time to complete and we are very sorry for the disruption and concern this is causing – however, please be assured that our teams are working day and night to get this resolved.
'This level of complex and detailed operational work will continue until we are completely confident that it is safe to remove the boil water notice.'
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