Cryptosporidium - is anyone having to boil their water?

Germanshepherdsmum

I don’t suppose anyone has thought that their pension fund might be one of the shareholders …

Not sure how that is an argument against ensuring clean reliable drinking water and safe rivers and seas!

You see - the price of everything but the value of nothing

Britax filters don't kill cryptosporosis as it's not fine enough. Boiling or bottled water is the only effective way

Yes, and how long should it take to replace/mend 'one faulty valve'?

Whitewavemark2

Germanshepherdsmum

I don’t suppose anyone has thought that their pension fund might be one of the shareholders …

Not sure how that is an argument against ensuring clean reliable drinking water and safe rivers and seas!

It's not.

However, where are our pension funds invested? Do we know, have we ever troubled to find out?
Water companies, arms etc. We can choose to invest ethically ourselves but we don't have much say in where our pension providers invest our money. If so, are we culpable, are we part of the problem too? Should we make ourselves more aware?

Farmers bear much of the responsibility, discharging contaminated effluent from cows. This should have been dealt with on the farm.

People are too quick to blame the water companies, they were not initially responsible for the release of this parasite. The cattle should have been tested and treated at source

Apparently it was going to be a hassle for them to give her just one bottle to carry as it had to be given out in packs.

Moth62: I'm so sorry to hear of your friend's predicament. I live in Torquay, just over eight miles from Brixham so have been following local media coverage of this crisis.

On Thursday, BBC Radio Devon broadcast interviews with kindhearted locals who were delivering bottled water to vulnerable neighbours who couldn't collect it themselves. Some had their names on priority lists for help in such circumstances but it had made no difference. Bizarrely, the collecting point was a few miles from the town centre so could only be accessed by those with a vehicle!

Despite "reassurances" from SW Water that our area is unaffected, we are using boiled, cooled water as much as possible, including to wash fruit and veg and for teeth cleaning. There is understandable concern about the effect on the tourist trade here - the half term holiday starts next weekend - with reports of some visitors cancelling planned visits, not just in Torbay but throughout Devon!

I came home from Peru with this bug a few years ago after eating salads obviously not washed in clean water. I was severely ill and after a month of sickness and diarrhoea and numerous tests my doctor still couldn’t identify what was wrong. I went out to my house in Crete and after collapsing was taken to a Greek hospital. They identified it immediately after doing stool tests and put me on a drip for three days with antibiotics that were not approved in the UK. By then I didn’t care what they gave me as I was under seven stone and couldn’t stand up! They managed to cure it but I have never been so ill. I don’t understand why they are saying it is not treatable and that antibiotics don’t work in the UK?
I feel so sorry for anyone contracting this.

parasites are not destroyed by antibiotics, which only work on bacteria. As you say, they could not identify your illness so you were given antibiotics in case you had one of the bad types of bacteria. In actual fact giving antibiotics does far more harm than good to the gut, they destroy the good bacteria which protects you and leave the space open to be colonised by bad and very bad bacteria

The body will get rid of these parasites, eventually

My DD2 just messaged from Seafest on the seafront. (The clue is in the name what is actually being celebrated). Guess what? South West Water had a stall there. I hope it wasn't to promote their business!

The voice of common sense, karmalady.

Karmalady

The body will get rid of these parasites, eventually

What happens if it doesn’t ? This had been going on for nearly two months and I couldn’t even keep water down let alone food.
I don’t ever take antibiotics as I know the effect they have on good bacteria but all I know is that I started to get better after these were given. Perhaps there was something else going on besides the parasite?

Germanshepherdsmum

I don’t suppose anyone has thought that their pension fund might be one of the shareholders …

So we shoukd just let it continue then? I wonder how you will feel when it us your local water which is contaminated? It may not be now, but it will. How do you feel about bathing on the beaches now? Or sailing, or canoeing, or do you not care because you don't do water sports?

HousePlantQueen

Germanshepherdsmum

I don’t suppose anyone has thought that their pension fund might be one of the shareholders …

So we shoukd just let it continue then? I wonder how you will feel when it us your local water which is contaminated? It may not be now, but it will. How do you feel about bathing on the beaches now? Or sailing, or canoeing, or do you not care because you don't do water sports?

If our pensions funds are involved we’ll just have to suck it up, won’t we? I don’t imagine people are so selfish as to put personal gain above public safety.

It’s a bit rich when people complain about dividends paid to shareholders when they have no idea if their pension fund is a shareholder (which is quite likely).

Germanshepherdsmum

It’s a bit rich when people complain about dividends paid to shareholders when they have no idea if their pension fund is a shareholder (which is quite likely).

Who is the ‘they’ you’re talking about Germanshepherdmum?

Have you noticed the complaints on GN about dividends?

Germanshepherdsmum

It’s a bit rich when people complain about dividends paid to shareholders when they have no idea if their pension fund is a shareholder (which is quite likely).

I'm getting it Germanshepherdsmum!

Complaining online about the state of the water industry but receiving a pension, without complaint, which is paid as a result of investment in those same water companies seems hypocritical.

Stocks and shares ISAs? Do we know exactly where they are invested?

Investigate and, if necessary, complain to the pension providers.

I can't believe how bad a job these private companies have made of our water system, I so hope they will be banished by the next gov't, just think what they'd do to the NHS & schools if they got another 4 years

But dividends vary from year to year, share prices change daily, and the more risky your investment the more you stand to gain or lose if the market changes. Pension funds are usually very spread portfolios. Everybody knows these things, surely?

Pension funds investing in the water companies include the Church of England pension fund, British University Staff pension fund, BT pension fund, Mineworkers, some Local Authority schemes, in fact dozens of British pension funds are (or were) invested in water companies.

It makes no difference if the funds are spread, perhaps it means that we should be more interested and make representation to our pension fund provider.

They said yesterday that its a pipe leak near wear cattle are, so they do know.Not heard about paignton though.We had cryptos in our water in north west but united utilities kept saying they were harmless and to just boil the water.They brought a few bottles of water to priority customers and even though we carried on buying our own for weeks all everyone got was £55.

Most of us don’t have a say in where their pension funds are, it doesn’t follow that we don’t care. Some people think the bottom line excuses anything. I do not want my pension fund etc investing in companies which are not fulfilling their statutory duties, are unethical or are destroying our environment. I do have a choice of bank and I do try to put my money into ethical funds where I have the choice.

A report on BBC online today says that research by the University of Greenwich suggests that investors have withdrawn £85.2bn from 10 water and sewage companies in England and Wales since privatisation more than 30 years ago.

Which the water companies deny. They say the figure is much lower. Remember that the investors who have bought shares from the companies have given the companies money in return for dividend payments.