Water company criticized for scary pest outbreak in Devon

Residents in the area hit by a waterborne pest outbreak in south Devon have described the impact on their lives as “terrible” and a water company’s response to the situation as “poor”.

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

But residents in the area have criticized the water company’s handling of the “scary” incident.

Bryon Freer, who lives in Brixham but is originally from New Zealand, said friends and family from his homeland had asked him what was going on.

He said he suffered “horrible stomach aches, severe diarrhea and severe headaches” which left him bedridden for five days.

His wife, Mr Freer added, had also experienced symptoms and he described it as “probably the worst illness” of his adult life.

The 59-year-old said SWW’s response had been inadequate and the £115 compensation offer, which the company had increased by £15 on Thursday and said it remained under consideration, was an insult.

“If you speak to anyone who lives in the Hillhead or Higher Brixham area, we are all really unhappy,” he said.

Torbay’s director of public health, Dr Lincoln Sergeant, said symptoms were “unpleasant but self-limiting” for most of those infected.

He said the authority’s main concerns were “vulnerable people who are at risk of more serious illness” if exposed to the parasite.

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

SWW said it was emptying Hillhead Reservoir and the wider area from Alston to Brixham was still being investigated as a potential cause of the outbreak.

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

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

Ms Lewis said the initial poor advice and subsequent U-turn summed up the “disgusting” way SWW had responded.

Ms Lewis said: “They took samples from my neighbors and even told them it would be 24 hours before they got the results.

“But two hours later they mentioned on social media that it was OK to drink the water in Brixham when it was clearly not OK to drink it.”

Higher Brixham resident Ian Lomas said his entire family had been seriously ill following the outbreak, including his three-year-old granddaughter.

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

“This has had a terrible impact on our family unit.

“South West Water has been far too slow to admit responsibility and communication has been poor.”

SWW said it had installed bottled water stations in the Fresh Water Quarry and Broadsands car parks, as well as a station in the Churston car boot sale field.

Bottled water deliveries were also being made to customers who needed it, SWW added.

Among those who helped provide water to residents was Andrew Strang, Torbay councilor for Furzeham with Summercombe.

He said SWW’s response had been “very good” after acknowledging there was a problem, but that had not ended residents’ frustration.

Mr Strang said: “Hindsight is a brilliant thing and yes, things could always be handled a little better.

“Everyone is working together to resolve the situation and make the best out of it.”

However, some residents who needed deliveries said it had proven difficult to get bottled water sent to their homes, even though they were on a priority list.

Cecilia Forde, who suffers from myalgic encephalomyelitis, or chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), said she ended up having to call SWW to have someone deliver her water.

“I couldn’t make a cup of tea and, to be honest, I was a little worried because my immune system is a little weakened from ME and CFS,” the 61-year-old said.

A guesthouse owner said the outbreak had also impacted the city’s tourism and hospitality industry.

Steve Price, who runs the Station Guest House at Churston Ferrers near Brixham, said guests were canceling their bookings due to concerns about the cryptosporidium outbreak.

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

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

Mr Price said: “We do everything we can to make sure that when guests come they feel comfortable and safe.”

He added that SWW had not made any 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 that some difficult questions will need to be answered about how the outbreak was handled.

Mr Mangnall said: “From the management so far to the delays in communicating with the community to the refusal to begin, I am deeply concerned about the management of South West Water.

“To me, that’s pretty indicative that at some point heads are going to have to come around to this.”

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

The statement said the company would like to “sincerely apologize” for the effects of the outbreak locally.

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