Utility counts cost of water bug

The company issued a ‘boil water notice’ to over 300,000 properties in early August, after routine tests at water treatment works in Preston detected small traces of cryptosporidium. About 10% of its customer base was affected.

“Customer satisfaction is a key area of focus and so we were very disappointed that a significant water quality incident occurred this summer in parts of the Lancashire region, and we are continuing to investigate the cause,” the company said in a trading statement today. 

Customer satisfaction is a key area of focus and so we were very disappointed that a significant water quality incident occurred this summer in parts of the Lancashire region, and we are continuing to investigate the cause

United Utilities

Cryptosporidium is a microscopic protozoan parasite that causes a gastrointestinal illness called cryptosporidiosis. It can be washed into rivers, streams and reservoirs from farms, septic tanks, sewers and from wastewater treatment works.

United Utilities said it had deployed extensive additional resources, including enhanced UV treatment, to kill off the final traces of a bug affecting the water supply in Lancashire, before lifting the boil notice in early September.

In the trading statement, United Utilities said its operating profit in the first half of the year would be impacted by customer compensation and one-off costs, totalling around £25 million, relating to the water-quality incident.  

Wessex Water also announced a ’boil water’ notice earlier this month, which affected 250 of its customers in the Somerset area.

Wessex Water said it imposed the notice as a precautionary measure after it found the water supply was “not of its usual standard”. However it said the problem was not related to that experienced by United Utilities.

”At no point was the parasite cryptosporidium found in water samples, which was the issue that affected thousands of homes in the Lancashire area last month” the company said.