Thames Water tests for fallow insect infestation as families fall ill

Thames Water has sent water samples for laboratory testing after dozens of people reported feeling unwell with stomach cramps, vomiting and diarrhea in south-east London.

Earlier this month, unsafe drinking water led to more than 100 cases of a water-borne illness in Devon, with people asked to boil their water over fears of contamination.

After cryptosporidium, a disease that can cause symptoms such as diarrhea and vomiting, was discovered in the water supply in the Brixham area of ​​Devon 10 days ago, 17,000 households and businesses were told by South West Water that they should not use their tap water to drink without boiling and cooling first.

Now residents of Beckenham have reported being struck by a stomach virus, which causes vomiting and diarrhea for days. They include a four-year-old boy who vomited for days, and an adult woman who was so unwell she went to hospital with stomach pain, vomiting and dehydration.

Katie Cox, a TV producer who lives nearby, said: ‘Two weeks ago I became unwell with what I thought was a stomach flu.

It took a good week before I could eat properly again. Since then, the contamination of the Southwest Water has come to light and I started to worry that there might be something in our water.”

Entire families have reported feeling unwell and fear this is caused by an insect in the water. After reporting the problem to Thames Water, people who were unwell said technicians came to take samples of their tap water. Thames Water confirmed that its technicians have collected samples, which have been sent for laboratory analysis.

A spokesperson said: “We take the quality of our water extremely seriously – it is the highest quality drinking water in the world – and since 2010 more than 99.95% of tests from customers’ taps have met the standard required by British and European law. We carry out more than 500,000 tests every year, taking samples from source to tap. Customers can find information about their water supply by entering their zip code into our website.”

Thames Water has not carried out specific testing on treatment plants nearby, but a source at the company says it is carrying out general monitoring from the wider water supply zone as part of a statutory monitoring programme, and there have been no recent outages from Central Sydenham. water zone.

Labour’s shadow environment secretary Steve Reed said: “Our water industry is broken. Just days ago an outbreak of parasites made people sick in Devon, now Beckenham’s drinking water may not be safe to drink.”

In Devon, South West Water said the water was safe to drink on May 14, before reversing this advice a day later. The company said data from testing showed treated water leaving the treatment plant was not contaminated, but further testing overnight found small traces of cryptosporidium.

In Brixham, 2,500 properties are still under notice that tap water must be boiled while the system is flushed, and no date has yet been given for these properties when the water will be safe to drink again.

David Harris, director of drought and resilience at South West Water, said: “We will not withdraw the boil water notice until it is safe to do so.”