Inspectorate criticises SWW over ‘unfit’ water

SOUTH West Water mismanaged its response to contamination in a Devon reservoir which caused unfit drinking water to be supplied to customers for six weeks, the industry watchdog has said.

The Drinking Water Inspectorate has given its account of what happened in the summer of 2018 after it prosecuted the Exeter-based company under Section 70 of the Water Industry Act 1991 for supplying water that was “unfit for human consumption”. It criticised South West Water for failing to act quickly enough to a known risk, despite an earlier warning about an almost identical incident.

The company admitted the charge and was ordered to pay almost £300,000 in fines and costs last week. It later apologised for what it described as an “isolated incident” in 2018 caused by a naturally occurring algal bloom on the Wistlandpound

reservoir in North Devon, in part due to an unusually hot and dry summer. It said there was no risk to health and there had been no repeat of the problem.

The regulator told Plymouth Magistrates’ Court that, between June 19 and August 21 in 2018, South West Water supplied water that was “unfit for human consumption” from treatment works at Bratton Fleming and Hore Down, near Barnstaple.

The Drinking Water Inspectorate said that customers in the Barnstaple and Ilfracombe areas “complained of an unacceptable taste and odour in their tap water which made the water undrinkable.” It was caused by two naturally occurring algal compounds which can be effectively removed by carbon treatment.

The Inspectorate said that “the company did not follow best practice to avoid or shorten the event and did not provide advice or alternative supplies when consumers found the taste of the water unacceptable.” At the time, as reported by WMN sister website DevonLive, South West Water told customers that they should chill water in the fridge or add a slice of lemon to improve the taste.

Marcus Rink, Chief Inspector of Drinking Water, said yesterday: “This prosecution was brought in the public interest because this was a known risk in the area, the company were previously warned over their inaction in an almost identical case and continued to fail the interests of their consumers by not putting drinking water quality first. I am content that the Court has recognised the minimum expectation required of a water company.”

The Inspectorate said there was no direct health risk to consumers but the taste and odour issues caused widespread concern. It added: “The company has experience of similar events within their operating region but failed to apply any learning from previous events. The company water quality risk assessment had identified the risk of taste and odour occurring, however, the company failed to put suitable control measures in place.”

A spokesperson for South West Water said after the case: “We deeply apologise to our customers affected by this incident in 2018, which was caused by an algal bloom on the reservoir.

“We accept that unpalatable water, even when safe to drink, is absolutely unacceptable, and this was reflected in our guilty plea at the earliest opportunity.

“Since then, we have made a number of major investments of up to £1 million to the site to reduce the risks of such events occurring again.”