Boil water notice is lifted for 21 customers between Hillhead and Boohay supply tank

South West Water is still advising around 2,073 households in the wider Hillhead, upper Brixham and Kingswear areas to continue to boil their drinking water before consumption, as they are served by a separate system that continues to be flushed and cleaned to ensure the water is safe to drink. 

South West Water has today (Friday 14 June) lifted the boil water notice for 21 customers supplied off the Hillhead to Boohay main. 

Our water quality scientists have been working closely with our analytical facilities and public health professionals and the results of our water quality monitoring confirm that it is safe to lift the boil water notice in this part of the network. This means that customers supplied off that main can now return to using their tap water as normal.   

South West Water is still advising around 2,073 households in the wider Hillhead, upper Brixham and Kingswear areas to continue to boil their drinking water before consumption, as they are served by a separate system that continues to be flushed and cleaned to ensure the water is safe to drink. 

Customers and businesses who no longer need to boil their water before consuming it will be contacted directly today, while South West Water’s website and social media channels will continue to be kept updated with relevant information and FAQs. 

Today's decision was made in line with the principles agreed with the UKHSA and the local authority's Environmental Health department. It follows extensive efforts in recent weeks by South West Water teams to clean and flush the affected areas of its network. 

This week the company successfully commenced ultraviolet (UV) treatment at its Boohay supply tank, following UV being operational at its Hillhead supply tank from 4 June. In addition to our other interventions, this means South West Water now has a double layer of protection using UV and specialist microfilters across the Hillhead and Boohay water supply networks, to provide additional barriers. 

Water quality monitoring will continue across the network for the foreseeable future. 

Laura Flowerdew, South West Water’s Chief Customer and Digital Officer, said: “We want to thank our customers, visitors and local businesses for their continued patience while our teams work hard to clean the network and put interventions in place to prevent this from happening again.

"We are pleased to be able to remove the boil water notice for 21 customers along the Hillhead to Boohay main. We want to reassure everyone that we have taken all the necessary steps, including rigorous sampling, to be sure their water is safe to use as normal.

“We are working around the clock to lift the boil water notice for the remaining customers in the Hillhead, Upper Brixham and Kingswear area. Cryptosporidium levels are reducing as a result of our work but we will only lift the notice further when we are completely sure it is safe to do so."

Hundreds of South West Water network technicians, engineers, water quality scientists, contractors and technicians have worked day and night over many weeks to fix this issue. The company has thoroughly cleaned its water supply tanks and added a double layer of protection using UV and specialist microfilters to provide additional barriers. 

Bottled water continues to be delivered to all affected households across the boil water notice area. South West Water will continue to offer bottled water stations at Freshwater Quarry Public Car Park (TQ5 8BA), Broadsands Car Park (TQ4 6HX) and Churston Car Boot Sale Field (TQ4 7BQ) between 7am and 9pm every day. 

South West Water’s community van is visiting the Brixham and Kingswear areas daily to provide support for households affected and to help with any concerns they have following the boil water notice.  

If any customers or businesses are unsure whether they remain under the Boil Water Notice, they can check using South West Water’s postcode checker at www.southwestwater.co.uk/household/help-support/in-your-area/service-updates 

South West Water will be providing guidance to customers on flushing their own pipework. Customers who are unsure what to do or are concerned about the impact on their water bill are encouraged to call 034 346 2020 for additional help. 

A dedicated helpline has been set up for business customers to help them understand what support is available to them, including questions relating to any compensation, with any claims being fast tracked and reviewed on an individual basis.