Residents say 'questions left unanswered' at South West Water meeting in Brixham

Residents were invited to a meeting with South West Water to discuss their concerns.

Residents in Brixham who attended a meeting with South West Water (SWW) to discuss the water parasite outbreak in south Devon said it's left too many questions unanswered.

SWW bosses - including Chief Executive Susan Davy - faced a series of questions about the outbreak of cryptosporidium during a meeting at Brixham Town Hall on Thursday 12 September.

It has been nine weeks since the last households in Brixham were told their tap water was safe to drink following the discovery of the parasite in May.

Caroline Voaden, the Liberal Democrat MP for South Devon, said residents have had to wait too long to put their questions to Ms Davy, but hopes there will be progress in the coming months.

SWW said it was "truly sorry" for the significant impact the outbreak had on local people and business.

One man who attended the meeting said while he recognised Ms Davy's apology, he felt she didn't gage the strength of feeling from local people about the impact of the incident.

"Ms Davy's main job there tonight was to apologise unreservedly. What she didn't do is understand the actual feeling of the anger and the distrust towards South West Water," he said.

Another resident who attended the meeting said she felt "lots of questions were left unanswered."

She said: "The main question, that came right at the end, was a lot of people asking whether their water was safe. We've got no trust in the water that we're drinking."

Thousands of people were left having to boil their water or use bottled water following the outbreak in May.

Ms Voaden said she believed Brixham is still struggling to trust SWW.

She said: "If they find that the cause of this outbreak was because SWW had not maintained the equipment, then I absolutely think Ms Davy should go because I think she has to take responsibility for that.

"I think there is a question around corporate governance. What is a water company for?"

In a statement, David Harris, Managing Director of Water Services, said: “We know the rare events in Brixham earlier this year had a significant impact on local people and businesses and for that we are truly sorry.

"While the situation has thankfully been resolved, we know some people may still have questions. We organised this event to give customers the chance to hear from us in person," he added.

Thousands of people were left having to boil or use bottled water after the parasite, which causes sickness and diarrhoea, was first detected.

The advice remained in place for 54 days for some properties before it was finally lifted on 8 July.