School closed as 16,000 homes boil water
A PLYMOUTH school was closed yesterday as about 16,000
householders in parts of Plymouth and the South Hams were
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warned not to drink their tap water.
South West Water issued the warning early yesterday morning
after it realised river water may have got into the system at a
treatment plant near Sparkwell.
People were advised to boil water before drinking it for the
following 48 hours, as a precautionary measure.
South West Water operatives drove around the effected areas
handing out leaflets to warn people of the possible risk.
A spokesman for South West Water said the 16,000 households
represented a potential maximum that the compromised supply
might reach.
Affected areas include Ivybridge, Lee Mill, Brixton, Newton
Ferrers, Yealmpton, Sparkwell, Langage, Ermington, Ugborough,
Wotter, Watercombe, Lee Moor, Cornwood, Elburton, Billacombe
and Plympton.
A spokesman for South West water said: “The water can be used
for washing, bathing and flushing toilets but South West Water
is requesting customers to boil any water used for drinking,
cleaning teeth, washing food, cooking or for medical
purposes.”
David Farmer, head teacher of Plymstock School, said it had
not been possible to supply boiled or bottled water to the
approximately 2,000 students and staff at the school.
Many smaller schools coped with the problem in this way.
Mr Farmer made the decision to send Plymstock School students
home at about 11.30am yesterday. He decided the school could
provide water for the small number of students taking exams,
and they were not affected.
It had been initially unclear wether the school was in the
affected area. Once it had been confirmed that part of
Plymstock was affected, Mr Farmer said he had asked for a
bowser to be sent to the school by South West Water, but was
told the water would have to be boiled anyway.
Mr Farmer said he realised that sending students home would be
a considerable inconvenience to many people, but after carrying
out a risk assessment he felt he had no other option.
South West Water inspectors were alerted by a remote
monitoring system to a problem with the supply at about 1am
yesterday.
It is thought the untreated water could have entered the
supply system at the Houndall Water Treatment Works.
A warning was put out on TV, radio, and on websites, while
South West Water called vulnerable customers such as hospitals,
schools and disabled people individually.
People were asked to notify their neighbours if they felt they
were vulnerable and may not have heard of the warning.
But it was initially not entirely clear which areas of
Plymouth were affected.
About 100 staff and contractors from the water company’s
Crownhill premises were drafted in to distribute leaflets to
customers, while other employees drove around the affected
areas using loud-hailers to warn people.
Engineers flushed water mains and took samples. yesterday they
had not found anything of concern, but the company needs three
clear samples before it can declare the water safe - and each
can take 16 hours to provide a result.
A spokesman said: “Fortunately the water came from Dartmoor
and is probably clean anyway.”
He said anyone who had drunk the water before hearing of the
warning need not be concerned, but added: “Obviously if they
feel ill they should contact their GP.”
A spokesperson for Plymouth City Council said officers had
contacted schools, vulnerable people and service providers to
pass on the warning.
She said it had been up to individual schools to make a
decision on whether they could stay open.
Corinne Shore, communications manager at the PCT, confirmed
that Plympton Hospital and the Lee Mill Mental Health Unit were
in the affected area.
She said: “We will be following the precautions for at least
48 hours or until we receive further guidance.
“We don't expect it to cause a problem - it's just a case of
boiling the water.”
Ice cream maker Langage Farm said they had had “a bit of a
panic” when they heard of the warning but fortunately their
water is treated separately with their own UV filter before
being used to clean implements.
Gary Jones, engineering manager at Langage, said the plant was
quarantined briefly yesterday morning before the nature of the
problem was clear.
“The only downside was the late notification,” he said. “They
didn’t ring us.
A spokesperson for South West Water said: “We had a massive
logistical difficulty in getting word out to everybody.”
He said the company had to advise people to boil water from
bowsers by law.
63 Comments
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by oldie, Upper Chaddlewood
Saturday, June 21 2008, 7:28AM
“Never done this before - but will be writing in English -grammar and spelling correct. How people let themselves down!! SWW should, in the 21 century, be able to supply us with non-contaminated water all the time - it costs enough. No I'm not in Africa, and although I feel for those who are, wouldn't it be nice if the people, like Mugabe, who take our foreign aid and put it in numbered accounts in Switzerland for their own use, were forced to spend it on their people. Some youngsters may forget, conveniently, two world wars were fought so that we could have the freedom in these islands for a better future: ?is it. I don't think so and God bless the boys in Afghanistan and Iraq helping to keep the world safe from those who would impose their beliefs on us. No doubt this will bring a hail of abuse. ?do I care - no.”
by marc, plympton
Friday, June 20 2008, 10:49PM
“I would not be the first to come to SWW defense however we were drinking far worse through lead pipes as little as 20 years ago! What concerns me is the proximity of Houndsall Treatment works to the China Clay Mines at LeeMill moor.A bit of upper Plym water i can handle but there is a great deal of difference to the effulent and its chemical compounds running off the clay pit ...So Sww water what is the nature of the pollutant please and its health risks ? We can point the finger later!!”
by clair, plymouth
Friday, June 20 2008, 9:33PM
“jc. Plymouth. Do u get paid for all the hours u work?”
by anon, plymouth
Friday, June 20 2008, 9:30PM
“Husband still out working to help all these compensation grabbing people.”
by thoughtful, plymouth
Friday, June 20 2008, 9:15PM
“Ross you must be an incredibaly slow worker then because a manager was on the local Radio / Tv telling us all that the problem was discovered at midnight. In defense of SWW I will say we had our leaflet early afternoon about 1ish I think which isn't bad especially if they had to be printed from scratch. I'm with Suzanne I will use my hosepipe when I want ( I do not leave it running for hrs on end like a neighbour of mine does which I find infuriating ) Why should we have to subsidise those living north of Bristol”