Dozens shun tap water over diarrhea concerns
NEIGHBOURS ON HOUSING ESTATE EXPERIENCE MINI TUMMY BUG EPIDEMIC
DOZENS of people on a housing estate are suffering from sickness and diarrhea.
Residents fear the outbreak might be linked to ongoing work to clean out water pipes.
But United Utilities say they have ‘no reason to believe’ it’s connected to the water supply and advised anyone who has fallen ill to see their GP.
In the meantime, cautious residents on the Ladyhouse estate in Milnrow, Rochdale which is home to about 550 households, say they are avoiding tap water - and keeping the bathroom close to hand.
Jed Williams runs a WhatApp group for the estate’s neighbourhood watch scheme.
He says dozens of people in the group have complained of falling ill over the weekend. He said: “Someone posted in the WhatsApp group last night asking if anyone had been ill and my phone’s been pinging ever since. There must be a hundred messages from people. There’s babies, old people, dogs even.
“My wife’s been ill since Saturday morning. I took my dogs out for a walk on Saturday and when we got back my German shepherd took a big drink of water then was sick all over the floor. The concern is that there are old people or babies that could get seriously ill.”
United Utilities began work to clean out water pipes on the estate about three weeks ago.
Driving instructor Jed, 54, says people are concerned the water supply has inadvertently become contaminated as a result.
He said: “Everybody’s getting ill from something and the water is the only common factor. It’s not like we’ve all had the same dodgy curry.
“We got as leaflet through the door about a month ago saying the water could be discoloured while the work was going on, but it’s been running clear.
“But I’m going to be getting some bottled water on the way home from work - you just can’t take the chance.”
A spokesperson for United Utilities said: “Mains cleaning is carried out to remove naturally occurring deposits.
“We have no reason to believe the water supply is causing the illness reported.”
Everybody’s getting ill from something and the water is the only common factor. Driving instructor Jed Williams