United Utilities water complaints dismissed

West Cumbria water "completely safe to drink" after supply change

Complaints that a change in the West Cumbria water supply has caused health issues are unfounded, according to authorities.

A Facebook group calling for action has attracted over 8,000 members, but United Utilities and the Drinking Water Inspectorate both insist that the water supply has tested completely safe.

“All of the water samples and all of the tests have come back absolutely fine, meeting all the right standards — there’s nothing there that is going to cause any health concerns,” said a spokesperson for United Utilities.

Residents in Copeland and Allerdale have been complaining of upset stomachs, mouth ulcers and skin conditions since United Utilities began blending water from Ennerdale Water with that from boreholes.

The blending resulted in harder water than the residents were used to, which became apparent when kettles began to make “popping” sounds when boiled.

The mayor of Copeland, Mike Starkie, subsequently complained that the “lack of communication” from United Utilities regarding the change in supply had “caused great concern” in West Cumbria.

The change was made after the Environment Agency instructed United Utilities it had to abstract less water from Ennerdale, as the current demand was not sustainable and “causing damage to the environment”.

While the water company insists the change in supply has not affected the safety of the drinking water, United Utilities has acknowledged customer complaints regarding limescale caused by harder water.

“While the water is completely safe to drink we do understand that our customers are unhappy about the harder water. We are in discussions with the Environment Agency to see whether a compromise may be reached for both the environment and our customers,” the spokesperson said.

Public Health England (PHE) also stated that there has been no evidence of increased health issues.

“Through our existing surveillance PHE is unaware of any increase in the number of confirmed giardia or cryptosporidium or an increase in the number of people presenting at their GP with diarrhoea or vomiting in the area of Cumbria affected by the change in water above what we would expect to see this time of year or when compared to previous years,” said Dr John Astbury, consultant in communicable disease control for PHE North West.

It has previously been suggested that the need to use more soap with harder water could be the cause of dry skin complaints.