South West Water running drop in sessions in Brixham this week to support customers and businesses

South West Water is hosting a series of drop-in community sessions this week in the centre of Brixham, for customers who have been affected by the cryptosporidium situation to get answers to their questions face-to-face.

Following the detection of cryptosporidium in the Brixham area last week around 16,500 households and businesses were issued with a boil water notice, advising them not to consume their drinking water without boiling and cooling it first.

The company has been working hard around the clock to identify and resolve the issue as quickly as possible. On Saturday 18 May it lifted the boil water notice for around 14,000 properties in its Alston supply area after its water quality monitoring results confirmed no cryptosporidium

Around 2,500 properties in Hillhead, upper parts of Brixham and Kingswear are still subject to a boil water notice.

To hear from affected customers and businesses, and to provide answers and reassurance about the work being done to fix this issue, South West Water has invited local residents and businesses to attend drop in sessions at Scala Hall in Brixham.

Colleagues from across South West Water are on hand to support with concerns around water quality, network operations, support for compensation claims for both businesses and residents, and help for customers. Local community support groups are also on hand to support with information on public health and wider support.

Laura Flowerdew, South West Water’s Chief Customer and Digital Officer, said: “I am very sorry for the impact we have had on our customers in Brixham and the surrounding area. We want to meet with customers face to face to provide residents and businesses an opportunity to talk to us directly. 

We know many customers want to understand more about what we are doing to restore a safe water supply and have questions they want answered. I would encourage anyone who has questions or concerns to drop in to see our team and find out more about how we can support them.”

South West Water’s Community drop in sessions are open at Scala Hall, Brixham Town Hall, New Road, Brixham, TQ5 8TA from 12pm-5pm today (23 May). The sessions will also run 12pm-7pm on Friday 24 May. For more information, please visit Brixham community drop-in series (southwestwater.co.uk)

Following safety advice from UKHSA, South West Water is asking people not to attend if they are showing symptoms of cryptosporidium. Affected customers and businesses who cannot attend the drop-in sessions can contact South West Water’s customer service team on 03332 343 293.