Cryptosporidium - is anyone having to boil their water?

We seem to be safe here in Durham...

It's startling how easily Brixham's drinking water seems to have been infected. What happened to their quality control?

Cryptosporidium is a horrible thing to have. My daughter was very very ill with it after catching it while we were on holiday in the Lake District when she was five - she was hospitalised for several days because she was so ill. If in any doubt at all, I would definitely boil your water.

Animals can also be infected, so boil your pet’s water.

Water is the most basic for human life. Why on earth did we allow profit to be attached to basic necessity?

I think the British public are appalled. I certainly am and yet I don’t live in that area. I’m shocked that this has happened in Britain in this day and age and that it has been allowed to happen. I’m sure the people in this area are extremely angry too. I’ve just heard that last year the share holders of South West Water were paid millions in dividends whilst at the same time, according to The Guardian, that the company was pumping raw sewage into the sea and rivers.

It’s truly unbelievable!

We don’t yet know how the problem has arisen.

I think the biggest issue is that there is no control on how the owners spend their profit. So they can mend the infrastructure or they can pay themselves income.

Doesn’t take much imagination to understand what is the most likely thing to happen to the profit does it?

The problem has arisen because the water treatment was insufficient.

The real problem is that the ownership is largely foreign, who have little interest in anything other than profit. And to litigate against these disasters is almost impossible.

I agree that it's appalling. South West water, in particular, are disgraceful.
Does Labour, if elected, have any plans for water companies?

Labour’s plan to stop sewage polluting our rivers and seas
Labour will put the water companies under special measures to clean up our waters.

Under Labour’s tough plans, Ofwat could have blocked six out of nine water bosses’ bonuses last year because of severe levels of illegal pollution.

Labour has pledged to put failing water companies under tough special measures to force them to clean up their toxic mess and protect people’s health.

This includes:

Giving the water regulator powers to block the payment of any bonuses until water bosses have cleaned up their filth. We don’t need the dither and delay of a consultation; we need immediate action.
Water bosses who oversee repeated law-breaking will face criminal charges.
Ending self-monitoring and forcing all companies to monitor every single water outlet under independent supervision so companies can no longer cover up illegal sewage dumping.
Introducing severe and automatic fines that water companies can’t afford to ignore for illegal sewage discharges.

I would also like to see a nod towards nationalisation as well. I appreciate the complexity and cost. I would also like to see the EA given much more power.

Can we say for 100% that it wouldnt have happened under public ownership?

Last week R4's programme, The Briefing Room, looked at the water industry, in particular Thames Water.

If you want to know the full horror of how the owners of water companies have stripped £billions in dividends out of these companies and not invested a penny. I recommend a listen.
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001yxl5

fancythat

Can we say for 100% that it wouldnt have happened under public ownership?

No I don’t think that we could.

Whitewavemark2

fancythat

Can we say for 100% that it wouldnt have happened under public ownership?

No I don’t think that we could.

But the income would be used to repair, upgrade the infrastructure and not to line foreign owners pockets.

fancythat

Can we say for 100% that it wouldnt have happened under public ownership?

Welsh Water is a not-for-profit organisation.

Their record is no better.

The River Severn, which runs between England and Wales, was the most polluted river and had seen 28,741 hours of sewage pumped into it on 2,656 occasions by Severn Trent Water. The rivers in Wales included in the list are the River Teifi, River Usk, River Wye, River Tawe, Menai Strait, and River Taf.

The total of six led Undertones singer and keen fisherman Feargal Sharkey, who is on a mission to protect the UK's rivers and streams, to tweet: "What on earth is going on in Wales, Welsh Water @Dwr Cymru with an utterly despicable record of 6 of the most polluted rivers. Get a grip."

A few months ago local people were told not to drink or use tap water and bottled water was being given to householders. That was over a Christmas period.

If anything should bring us out on to the streets protesting, it is this!

If the safety measures were adequate this infection in the water should not have happened. It sounds like corners cut for bigger profits.

In the normal supplier/customer relationship, if I am displeased at the service that I am receiving, or the way a particular company is conducting its business, I avoid that supplier, but this is not a normal relationship.

It is pure monopoly and we are all being exploited.

You are jumping to conclusions wwm. I prefer to wait until there is evidence of how the pollution occurred and how long it took to be detected.

I had a very unpleasant cryptosporidium infection many years ago. We were in holiday accommodation and there was an outbreak of severe vomiting and diarrhoea in the locality. The symptoms lasted over a week and I dropped 10lbs in a matter of days.

The source of the infection was eventually found to be a leaking agricultural tank which had seeped into the local water supply.

Germanshepherdsmum

You are jumping to conclusions wwm. I prefer to wait until there is evidence of how the pollution occurred and how long it took to be detected.

It isn’t my conclusion, it was a conclusion reached by a scientist working in the industry.

What he said was that the drinking water in the U.K. has dropped in quality over the past few years, due he maintains to insufficient treatment.

What will happen now is that SW water will treat the water with large levels of chlorine, which apparently brings its own unpleasant problems.

He wasn’t speaking about this specific incident though, as the source is as yet unknown.

Cryptosporidium is widespread and common in rivers and lakes in the UK which is why our tap water is chlorinated. If this outbreak is in mains water it’s either failure of purification or contamination due to damaged pipes.

Most cases are involving contact with animals or swimming in rivers and lakes, it affects those that are immunosuppressed badly.

Germanshepherdsmum

He wasn’t speaking about this specific incident though, as the source is as yet unknown.

What he did say was that whoever is at fault, absolutely no one will be held responsible, or accountable. Everyone will deny responsibility and they will all get away with it. There will be zero litigation.

The relationship between customer and supplier is not normal.

Water is the most basic for human life. Why on earth did we allow profit to be attached to basic necessity?

Because the great British public voted in a party that sees everything in terms of profit and money; and has no idea what the word service means.

We are now suffering the consequences.

Then we voted in a party which we hoped might take water back into public ownership.
Sadly, they didn't ☹