Mud bath? No thanks!
Couple face 30-mile trip for shower after spring water turns to sludge
Peter and Karen simpson thought they had found their rural idyll when they moved to a home with its own crystal clear spring in a national park.
But the businessman and his wife have battled a quarry company for four years after their water supply was contaminated leaving brown sludge flowing from the taps.
With no clean running water the couple have to visit a hotel 30 miles away for a hot bath. they cannot sell their £400,000 home and mrs simpson, 53, has cut her hair to make it easier to wash with bottled water, while their 24-year- old son terry has moved out.
When the simpsons bought Blaxter House at elsdon in northumberland national Park ten years ago, a major attraction was the hillside spring above their home which provided a private supply of pure water.
Construction firm boss mr simpson, 54, said it dates back to 1860. ‘the water was incredibly clear when it came from the taps,’ he said. ‘If you held it to the light you couldn’t even see there was water in your glass.
‘You had to shake it so the surface moved to see it.’
mr simpson believes the spring supplied clean water to the house for 152 years before the problem began four years ago.
He said: ‘ In 2012 everything changed and it was clear the spring had been contaminated because the water was coming out brown and dirty.
‘that coincided with the operators of the quarry near our home being served with statutory notices for quarrying outside their permitted area for Blaxter stone [which built much of Princes street in edinburgh].
‘It was clear to me the quarrying affected the water supply and it turned our life upside down.’
their water became unusable for drinking or washing, leaving the simpsons having to buy bottled supplies. mr simpson said: ‘I have to wash my wife’s hair for her and she’s cut it short to make it easier to manage. I’ve grown a beard for the same reason.’ He tried to get a supply from northumbrian Water, but Blaxter House’s remote location requires three miles of pipework at a cost of £500,000, which the couple would have to pay.
the businessman obtained emails via a Freedom of Information request in which environment Agency (eA) staff told the local council ‘there is evidence of the operators working below the water table... suggesting that the quarry company are excavating below groundwater’. An eA spokesman said it had visited Blaxter Quarry with the local authority and had some concerns about the potential impact on groundwater.
northumberland County Council said it had been addressing concerns about surface and ground water quality, adding: ‘the operator at Blaxter Quarry has made significant improvements to the on-site surface water management and the council are in positive dialogue with the operator to ensure that further improvements are delivered.’
Quarry company northumberland stone Ltd said: ‘We cannot see how we are responsible for the simpsons’ water issues as they were occurring well before we took control of the quarry and are associated with rainfall events, not activities within the quarry.
‘the residents have had confirmation from the eA that the spring is acting normally.’