Water firm criticised over 'scary' outbreak

People living in the area affected by a waterborne parasite outbreak in south Devon have described the impact on their lives as "terrible" and a water company's response to the situation as "poor".

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said 46 cases of cryptosporidiosis, an illness that causes prolonged diarrhoea, had been confirmed in the Brixham area, along with more than 100 other people reporting symptoms of the illness.

South West Water (SWW) said it believed it had found the source of the issue and said it was sincerely sorry for the impact the incident was having.

But people living in the area have criticised the water firm's handling of the "scary" incident.

Bryon Freer, who lives in Brixham but is originally from New Zealand, said he had had friends and family from his native country asking about what was happening.

He said he had suffered "awful stomach complaints, bad diarrhoea and severe headaches" that had left him bed-ridden for five days.

His wife, Mr Freer added, had also experienced symptoms and he described the condition as "probably the worst ailment" of his adult life.

The 59-year-old said SWW's response had been inadequate and the offer of £115 compensation, which the firm increased from £15 on Thursday and said it was keeping under review, was an insult.

"If you spoke to anyone that lives within Hillhead or Higher Brixham area, we're all really unhappy," he said.

Torbay's public health director Dr Lincoln Sergeant said the symptoms were "unpleasant but self-limiting" for most people who are infected.

He said the authority's main concerns were around "vulnerable people who are at risk for more severe illness" if exposed to the parasite.

About 16,000 homes and businesses have been advised to boil water before drinking it until further notice.

SWW said it was draining the Hillhead reservoir and the wider Alston area of Brixham was still being investigated as a potential cause for the outbreak.

Kayley Lewis, 33, said she and other members of her family had been suffering from cryptosporidium symptoms since 5 May, adding she had lost about 6lb (3kg) in weight in six days.

She said her 13-year-old son had become so ill, they had had to rush him to hospital when blood was found in his vomit, which she said was "scary" to deal with.

On Tuesday, SWW officials said there were no issues with its treated water and tap water was safe to drink, but 24 hours later they told residents to boil their water after traces of cryptosporidium were found.

Ms Lewis said the initial poor advice and the later U-turn summed up the "disgusting" way SWW had responded.

Ms Lewis said: "They took samples from my neighbours and even said to them it'll be 24 hours until we get the results.

"But two hours later they mentioned on social media that it was fine to drink the water in Brixham when clearly it wasn't OK to drink."

Ian Lomas, a resident of Higher Brixham, said his whole family had been severely ill as a result of the outbreak, including his three-year-old granddaughter.

Mr Lomas, 65, said: "Myself, my wife and daughter have had to isolate from each other due to illness.

"This has impacted our family unit terribly.

"South West Water were far too slow in admitting responsibility and the communication has been poor."

SWW said it had set up bottled water stations in car parks at Fresh Water Quarry and Broadsands along with a station in the Churston car boot sale field.

Bottled water deliveries were also being conducted for customers that needed it, SWW added.

Among the people who have been helping deliver water to residents is Andrew Strang, Torbay councillor for Furzeham with Summercombe.

He said the response from SWW had been "very good" after it acknowledged there was a problem but that had not stopped frustration with residents.

Mr Strang said: "Hindsight's a brilliant thing and yes, things could always be handled a bit better.

"Everyone is working together to resolve the situation and get the best out of it."

However, some residents who needed deliveries said it had proved to be a struggle to get bottled water sent to their home, even if they were on a priority list.

Cecilia Forde, who has Myalgic Encephalomyelitis or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS), said she had ended up having to call SWW to get someone to deliver water to her.

"I was unable to make a cup of tea and to be honest, I got a bit worried because my immune system's a bit impaired with the ME and CFS," the 61-year-old said.

A guest house owner said the outbreak has also had an impact on the tourism and hospitality industry in the town.

Steve Price, who runs the Station Guest House in Churston Ferrers near Brixham, said guests were cancelling bookings because of concerns about the cryptosporidium outbreak.

He said the cancellations had cost his business about £1,000.

He added he and his staff were following the advice by making sure there was bottled water for guests to use and boiling any water used in the kitchen.

Mr Price said: "We're trying everything we can to make sure that when guests do come, that they feel comfortable and they feel safe."

He added SWW had made no direct contact with him.

Conservative MP Anthony Mangnall, whose Totnes constituency includes Brixham, said it had been "an absolutely disastrous week" in the area.

He added some tough questions will need to be answered about how the outbreak has been dealt with.

Mr Mangnall said: "From the handling thus far to the delays in communication with the community to the denial at the beginning makes me deeply concerned about the management at South West Water.

"That to me is pretty indicative that at some point heads are going to have to roll over this."

A statement from SWW said it wanted to reassure customers it was working closely with UKHSA and public health partners to investigate the contamination.

The statement said the company wanted to "sincerely apologise" for the effect the outbreak was having locally.

A SWW spokesperson said: "Our ground teams are working hard, around the clock, to identify and then resolve the issue as quickly as we can."

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