St Athan residents told not to drink tap water from their homes

  • Watch the video report by ITV Cymru Wales reporter, Kate Lewis.

A Welsh housing estate has been told not to use their tap water after it failed to meet the standards required.

Residents of St Athan, Vale of Glamorgan, have been told to not drink, cook with, or give tap water to their pets by supplier Ancala Water Services.

Residents in St Athan have had to rely on collecting bottled water from a distribution hub.

According to residents, they were informed not to use their water supply between 3pm and 4pm on Thursday, May 12. It's been claimed they were told bottled water would be delivered to their addresses, but were later told to attend collection points to pick up supplies.

Residents say they have been told that the issue will last one to two days, but no formal communication about when the water will be okay to drink has been received.

In a letter dated May 12, Ancala Water Services told residents to not drink the water. The letter reads: "IMPORTANT: DO NOT DRINK OR COOK WITH TAP WATER SUPPLIED TO THIS BUILDING.

Residents received a letter telling them not to drink tap water from their homes. Credit: Media

"Routine sampling of the water supplied in your area has identified that it is not meeting the high standards required, until further notice, therefore, please follow the advice below:

  • Do not drink tap water

  • Do not cook or prepare foods with tap water

  • Do not use tap water for cleaning teeth

  • Do not let your pets drink tap water

  • Tap water can be used for washing and bathing

  • Tap water can be used for washing clothes

  • Tap water can be used for toilet flushing

"Whilst we work to resolve the issue we are providing you with bottled water, this will be delivered to your address. The risk of becoming ill from your tap water is low.

"When we're satisfied that there is no further need for this precautionary measure, we'll contact you again to advise that you can use your water as normal.

"If you require any further information regarding this, please contact our helpline on 08451292293 and they will put you in touch with a member of our team who can help you.

"I'd like to apologise for this inconvenience and assure you that we're doing everything possible to resolve the situation as quickly as possible."

Watch: Residents Viv Prattley and Ian Moss voice their concerns about the lack of communication around the contaminated water.

Resident Viv Prattley has said she has been frustrated by the lack of communication from those distributing the water.

She said: "It was only by chance that our neighbour knocked the door and said that the water had been delivered.

"But she found out by Facebook. So obviously some people on the estate don't have access to the internet.

"So they may not have been aware that there was water available at that point. And since then we've had no questions answered."

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Another resident, Holly Darch, spoke of the confusion as people lined the streets to receive their water supplies.

She said: "The letter said we would receive the bottled water at our address, but then we found out via a Facebook post that we had to go to collection points.

"We haven't been told what's wrong with the water as they are still investigating, but we only found out there was a problem this afternoon, so everyone has been using the water all day, which is worrying."

Reinforcements have been called in to ensure residents have enough water delivered to their homes.

Residents have been told to expect deliveries of bottled water to their homes, but there is no formal indication of when they will be able to use their taps again.

A spokesperson for Ancala Water Services said: "We have issued a 'do not drink' notice.  We have no further information at this time."