A PLYMOUTH school was closed yesterday as about 16,000

householders in parts of Plymouth and the South Hams were

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.

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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.