Cryptosporidium - is anyone having to boil their water?

Some of my family were affected by Cryptosporidium during a Nile cruise a few years ago, in fact the whole ship were very sick including the crew.
All the cruise guests were reimbursed with all the cruise costs. I heard that passengers were witnessing very poor food hygiene when loading provisions at port stops - meat carcasses were left out in the sun for hours on end and the river water was used for washing up apparently.

fancythat

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

No, of course not.

We seen to forget that sewerage was regularly pumped into the sea and rivers.

We live near the coast and as children we'd be at the beach to count how many sanitary pads we could count. At the time we didn't know what they were obviously. But mum was always telling us not to touch them!

Just read a post on Facebook, yes I know, and have asked for details of who compiled the figures, but apparently something happened in 2016, that made it easier to flout previously adhered to regulations, hence the rapid deterioration in water quality, with no jeopardy for the polluters.

karmalady

farm waste should be dealt with and re-used on site, it should never go into the water supply, either directly or indirectly. Animal waste is to blame

The water supply cannot cope with the rapidly increasing human population

There is plenty of water - it is the lack of capturing facilities that is an issue, because no money has been spent in the decaying infrastructure.

farm waste should be dealt with and re-used on site, it should never go into the water supply, either directly or indirectly. Animal waste is to blame

The water supply cannot cope with the rapidly increasing human population

M0nica

M0nica

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

A post of mine from an earlier page.I can only re-recommend this programme after the news about possible resignations from the Board of Directos.

Learn how much has been stripped out of the company, where all new investment, that could have been met from income has instead been paid for by borrowing and building up debt. Not a penny of owners money has been invested in the company in 32 years.

That is exactly the issue, throughout the whole country.

Water is the basic necessity for all of life and to treat it as a commodity for prophet is one of the most shortsighted things we as a country have ever done.

We are behaving as if we know the price of water but not its value.

M0nica

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

A post of mine from an earlier page.I can only re-recommend this programme after the news about possible resignations from the Board of Directos.

Learn how much has been stripped out of the company, where all new investment, that could have been met from income has instead been paid for by borrowing and building up debt. Not a penny of owners money has been invested in the company in 32 years.

This was where I read it.
corporate.dwrcymru.com/-/media/project/files/page-documents/corporate/library/leaflets-and-publications/customer-information-sheets/information-on-cryptosporidium.ashx

It’s filtered, chlorine doesn’t kill it, at least according to what I read.

Casdon

My understanding is that water in reservoirs is not infrequently contaminated, including with cryptosporidium, and that the reservoir water is filtered and treated through a water treatment plant before it is piped into our water supply. The filter in the local water treatment plant that South West Water are now identifying as failed should have filtered out the cryptosporidium but didn’t. Have I understood correctly?

Does it get filtered out or killed by chlorine? It's a very tiny organism.

Syracute

Germanshepherdsmum

The fact is, wwm, Ofwat has not been given the powers you mention. And nor are they likely to be.

Funny isn’t it, but Labour have been in power since the water industry was privatised in 1989 but still it remains privatised. Nobody mentions that.

Why are you being so complacent GSM ? This is a serious problem ! No time for a wait and see while people are being taken ill. Complacency is a huge problem here in Britain.

Complacency is a huge problem here in Britain.

I thought you said you live in America Syracute 🤔

Apologies if I misunderstood.

My understanding is that water in reservoirs is not infrequently contaminated, including with cryptosporidium, and that the reservoir water is filtered and treated through a water treatment plant before it is piped into our water supply. The filter in the local water treatment plant that South West Water are now identifying as failed should have filtered out the cryptosporidium but didn’t. Have I understood correctly?

On BBC News they showed a local man who was providing bottled water at his own expense as South West Water had not set up water stations. They think the problem is due to a leaky pipe on farmland close to a reservoir.

I am not complacent Syracute, but I don’t fling accusations without evidence. Investigations are taking place and in the meantime the public are being given appropriate advice and bottled water.

HousePlantQueen

karmalady

chlorine water treatment will not kill cryptosporidium. The only way is personal hygiene ie hand washing. It is commonly spread via animals eg petting zoos

How did it get into the water in the first place? could be simply from infected people swimming or using local streams as toilets

It takes two to tango, the public have a duty of care too

How many children are sent to school while still shedding the crypro spores?

i think it is a fair assumption, given that the water company involved are distributing huge amounts of bottled water, that this dreadful outbreak isn't due to someone not having washed their hands properly after having using the toilet.

Apparently animal waste got into the reservoir serving the Hillshead area due to a faulty valve, according to BBC News

Germanshepherdsmum

The fact is, wwm, Ofwat has not been given the powers you mention. And nor are they likely to be.

Funny isn’t it, but Labour have been in power since the water industry was privatised in 1989 but still it remains privatised. Nobody mentions that.

Why are you being so complacent GSM ? This is a serious problem ! No time for a wait and see while people are being taken ill. Complacency is a huge problem here in Britain.

Whitewavemark2

Germanshepherdsmum

How does a government minister sack an executive in the private sector petra?

Use your imagination! The government has bailed more than one water company out as a result of overpaying themselves and their shareholders. It is a disgrace.

I’m obviously missing something here. OfWat issue the licence to operate but have no power to rescind said licence.
Who thought that was a good idea 🤦🏼‍♀️

This is the River Lim which flows into Lyme Regis, Dorset:
An idyllic river has been declared 'ecologically dead' after the amount of human waste overflowing into it tripled in under a year. The River Lim in west Dorset used to be a thriving ecosystem with trout, eels and kingfishers populating the area.
As someone upthread said, if this was France we'd be protesting in the streets. But most of us just shrug our shoulders.

Southwest Water CEO
customers

Dear Customer,

I wanted to provide an update on what’s happening in Brixham, south Devon.

Your health and safety is our first and foremost priority. That’s why, on Wednesday 15 May, we advised those in the affected area to boil their drinking water before consuming it, following test results indicating the presence of cryptosporidium at Hillhead.

Recent tests showed that water leaving our treatment works was clear. However, in the early hours of Wednesday morning, we detected small traces of cryptosporidium in the Hillhead area of Brixham. Working with the UK Health Security Agency, we moved quickly to issue a boil water notice to affected customers and businesses.

Since then, our ground technicians have been working around the clock to identify the source of the contamination and rectify the situation so we can resume a normal water supply. While we urgently find and fix the problem, we have been delivering bottled water to vulnerable customers and to local businesses, including schools. We have also made bottled water available to residents in the local area.

I understand the significant impact the boil water notice has had on daily life. In recognition of this burden, our compensation payment will be increased to £115. This payment will be made automatically, where we have direct debit details, or applied as a credit to your next water bill, where we do not. You do not need to take any action.

To those in the affected area and our customers across the South West, I am truly sorry for the disruption and wider anxiety this has caused. While incidents like these are thankfully very rare, our customers expect a safe, clean, and reliable source of drinking water. I know on this occasion we have fallen significantly short of what you expect of us.

We will be providing updates, including on our website homepage and ‘In Your Area’ section, with additional information on Facebook. Our team is also available to answer your questions.

All of us at South West Water live and work in the region, just like you. It is our home and a place we love. I am sorry this has happened.

I promise you that we will not stop working until the situation has been resolved and drinking water returns to the quality level you expect.

Yours sincerely,

Susan Davy signature

I wasn’t talking about shareholders but lenders who will have a charge over assets.

No idea about the case you can’t remember …

Casdon

Germanshepherdsmum

Public ownership won’t come cheap Casdon. The assets will be loaded with debt, for starters …

I know. It doesn’t look as though there is any other option though.

Not necessarily - there is precedent - the court of appeal ruled that the shareholders were not necessarily due compensation. I forget the exact points - I need to research it, but I don’t think that the assumption that we will compensate the shareholders regardless is correct.

It related to one of the banks I think. Maybe Northern Rock?

Germanshepherdsmum

Public ownership won’t come cheap Casdon. The assets will be loaded with debt, for starters …

I know. It doesn’t look as though there is any other option though.

karmalady

chlorine water treatment will not kill cryptosporidium. The only way is personal hygiene ie hand washing. It is commonly spread via animals eg petting zoos

How did it get into the water in the first place? could be simply from infected people swimming or using local streams as toilets

It takes two to tango, the public have a duty of care too

How many children are sent to school while still shedding the crypro spores?

i think it is a fair assumption, given that the water company involved are distributing huge amounts of bottled water, that this dreadful outbreak isn't due to someone not having washed their hands properly after having using the toilet.

We are appalled, but so very many aspects of everyday life are now so broken down that we subconsciously think "there goes something else". The elected government seemingly doesn't give a toss: they're busy grovelling to oligarchs and fatcat shareholders, and giving the disabled, the jobless and unpaid carers a good kicking.

I heard someone on the radio remark that if this were France there would street riots on a daily basis. Maybe. But why on earth should ordinary citizens have to resort to that just to remind a government that they have moral responsibilities. Politicians don't hesitate to tell US about moral duties!

Frankly, we're probably just too weary.

Public ownership won’t come cheap Casdon. The assets will be loaded with debt, for starters …