South West Water (SWW) confirmed this morning that it had set up a bottled water station in Brixham, a centre of a Cryptosporidium outbreak. Yesterday, May 15, it confirmed that it had detected “small traces” of the organism in Alston and the Hillhead area of the seaside town – less than 24 hours after declaring the water safe to drink after all water supply tests came back negative.
Yesterday, a water station was set up in the Broadsands car park in Paignton – four miles from Brixham – where people can get clean drinking water. It was open from 7pm to 10pm, reopened at 6am today and will remain open until 9pm.
A new collection point is now in place at Freshwater Quarry car park on Blackball Lane in Brixham. It opens at 10am and stays open until 9pm. SWW staff will deliver water bottles to vulnerable customers who may not be able to get to the collection point, as well as those listed as priority customers.
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Some residents reportedly drove to Paignton to collect water bottles and distribute them to those who were unable to get there.
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, SWW said: “We have set up a second bottled water collection point for customers in the Alston and Hillhead areas of its local water network, which serves customers in Brixham, Boohay, Kingswear, Roseland and north-west Paignton.”
“From 10am this morning our team will be ready to welcome you at Freshwater Quarry car park, TQ5 8BA and will also be offering the same at Broadsands car park, TQ4 6HX. In the meantime we are delivering bottled water to vulnerable customers. For any enquiries please DM us and our team will get back to you as soon as possible.”
SWW has not provided a list of affected zip codes. Residents in affected areas are still advised to boil water before drinking.
Today, Eden Park Primary School in Brixham closed because it could not safely open to pupils without safe drinking water. Torbay Council is not aware of any other school closures and is working with SWW to ensure pre-school settings receive bottled water.
Locals reported that local shops and supermarkets have been out of water recently. Spar confirmed yesterday that there would be more water deliveries.
The latest data from the UK Health Authority (UKHSA) was released yesterday, May 15, announcing 22 confirmed cases. Where exactly these people live is not clear, except that the “majority” live in Brixham.
According to social media, not only local residents are affected, but also people who recently visited the area on day trips and vacations. The source of the outbreak is said to be drinking water.
The number of confirmed cases is expected to continue to rise in the coming days as hundreds of people continue to report on social media that they have had or are still suffering from symptoms related to the parasite.
