Cryptosporidium outbreak in Devon

Cryptosporidium outbreak in Devon

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hidetheelephants

Original Poster:

27,828 posts

200 months

Wednesday 15th May
quotequote all
Given crypto infection generally comes from sewage contaminated water the mealymouthed response from the water co is pretty st, but perhaps par for the course for privatised water; fk the customers, profit is all.

21TonyK

11,916 posts

216 months

Thursday 16th May
quotequote all
Yep, bit pissed off with this as I'm in an affected area. Lots of pans of boiling water on the go.

Have to be carefull as my immune systems is a bit fked up and getting ill isnt a good idea.

Add in the fact I'm a chef in high risk areas and I would be off work for a few weeks as if i was ill.

Local school closed as well. Friends who live opposite the reservoir have said there have been more SWW vans around for a few weeks so something was happening.

Highest water bills in the country or something?

vaud

52,399 posts

162 months

Thursday 16th May
quotequote all
hidetheelephants said:
Given crypto infection generally comes from sewage contaminated water the mealymouthed response from the water co is pretty st, but perhaps par for the course for privatised water; fk the customers, profit is all.
Outbreaks happened pre and post privatisation, it's often down to a single treatment works IIRC.

Also it was only identified in 1976, meaning there is only 13 years of data (and probably lower quality data given the immaturity of testing) versus 35 years of data post privatisation)

I'm not defending water privatisation as I think it was wrong, but it is unlikely to be a singular cause.

The infections happen regularly around the world in state owned and private water systems. What is better these days is real time or near real time detection (versus historical batch/spot testing) which means warnings can be issued more quickly.

moanthebairns

18,184 posts

205 months

Thursday 16th May
quotequote all
vaud said:
hidetheelephants said:
Given crypto infection generally comes from sewage contaminated water the mealymouthed response from the water co is pretty st, but perhaps par for the course for privatised water; fk the customers, profit is all.
Outbreaks happened pre and post privatisation, it's often down to a single treatment works IIRC.

Also it was only identified in 1976, meaning there is only 13 years of data (and probably lower quality data given the immaturity of testing) versus 35 years of data post privatisation)

I'm not defending water privatisation as I think it was wrong, but it is unlikely to be a singular cause.

The infections happen regularly around the world in state owned and private water systems. What is better these days is real time or near real time detection (versus historical batch/spot testing) which means warnings can be issued more quickly.
Pretty much, sparse details out just now so no way of telling how the outbreak began, it could just be a dead sheep in the reservoir. But every WTW should have a basic crypto rig at least, which is basically just some pipework and a filter controlled by the water authority which is taken away for analysis. I'm actually working on the design of a portable one just now for my local water authority, I can see them getting very shouty to push this through on the back of this.

President Merkin

4,297 posts

26 months

Thursday 16th May
quotequote all
The runs of Brixham.

From last night's news, the locals are pissed off not least because after people started falling ill, SWW told them nothing to see here & to carry on as normal, so they did. Then they all came down with the two bob bits whereupon they admitted there was a problem & to boil the water.

Wider context, water privatisation is an acute failure, the narrative arc across the board is foreign ownership, debt loading, cranked up shareholder divdends, chronic underinvestment & a feeble regulatory framework allowing the water co's to mark their own homework whcih is handy if you want to pull the plug on doing your actual job & replace it with just dumping raw sewage all over the place.

Edited by President Merkin on Thursday 16th May 10:10

thatsprettyshady

3,784 posts

172 months

Thursday 16th May
quotequote all
I live a few miles away but not in the affected area.

Local FB groups are demanding lockdowns and curfew etc as apparently this can spread person to person. I'm not sure if it's meant to be tongue in cheek but the level of hysteria here is off the charts.

It seems the water company have found the source of the bug, a leaky air valve at the res.

21TonyK

11,916 posts

216 months

Thursday 16th May
quotequote all
thatsprettyshady said:
I live a few miles away but not in the affected area.

Local FB groups are demanding lockdowns and curfew etc as apparently this can spread person to person. I'm not sure if it's meant to be tongue in cheek but the level of hysteria here is off the charts.

It seems the water company have found the source of the bug, a leaky air valve at the res.
Muppets filling trolleys with water in Lidl while wearing masks.




vaud

52,399 posts

162 months

Thursday 16th May
quotequote all
21TonyK said:
Muppets filling trolleys with water in Lidl while wearing masks.
Though in this case they might benefit from extra toilet paper...

BigMon

4,710 posts

136 months

Thursday 16th May
quotequote all
21TonyK said:
Yep, bit pissed off with this as I'm in an affected area. Lots of pans of boiling water on the go.

Have to be carefull as my immune systems is a bit fked up and getting ill isnt a good idea.

Add in the fact I'm a chef in high risk areas and I would be off work for a few weeks as if i was ill.

Local school closed as well. Friends who live opposite the reservoir have said there have been more SWW vans around for a few weeks so something was happening.

Highest water bills in the country or something?
South West Water are ucking fuseless and have been for the twenty odd years I've lived in South Devon.

Fortunately my TQ postcode isn't affected but I have several workmates who live in Brixham and to say they are pissed off is an understatement.

moanthebairns

18,184 posts

205 months

Thursday 16th May
quotequote all
thatsprettyshady said:
I live a few miles away but not in the affected area.

Local FB groups are demanding lockdowns and curfew etc as apparently this can spread person to person. I'm not sure if it's meant to be tongue in cheek but the level of hysteria here is off the charts.

It seems the water company have found the source of the bug, a leaky air valve at the res.
Id love to see what is roaming around the valve. Must be a farmers field or something.

Yahonza

2,131 posts

37 months

Thursday 16th May
quotequote all
Crypto usually comes from animal dubs and water runoff from any areas with animals.
Complete shocker though that it wasn't picked up in testing - if there were any tests done by the water company.
Nothing will be done about it / no-one held accountable as is often the way these days.

21TonyK

11,916 posts

216 months

Thursday 16th May
quotequote all
It is indeed sited on farmland at "Hill Head" which as the name suggests is not really arable.

the tribester

2,602 posts

93 months

Thursday 16th May
quotequote all
A friend from Brixham said he'd been told SWW diverted water from another reservoir to supplement demand for the recent Brixham Pirate festival, but the 2nd supply hadn't been treated correctly.

thatsprettyshady

3,784 posts

172 months

Friday 17th May
quotequote all
21TonyK said:
It is indeed sited on farmland at "Hill Head" which as the name suggests is not really arable.


As you know, this is the place that SWW seem to have been concentrating on. That farm situated opposite, livestock I wonder?

21TonyK

11,916 posts

216 months

Friday 17th May
quotequote all
thatsprettyshady said:
21TonyK said:
It is indeed sited on farmland at "Hill Head" which as the name suggests is not really arable.


As you know, this is the place that SWW seem to have been concentrating on. That farm situated opposite, livestock I wonder?
You don't say scratchchinbiglaugh (not funny actually, real PITA, literally)

moanthebairns

18,184 posts

205 months

Friday 17th May
quotequote all
Not an unusual event then, it happens, most reservoirs by nature have farms around them, but its why they have a range of instruments to test for stuff like this at a WTW. The ball ache of explaining it will come if there isn't a crypto rig on site and if there is why was it not picked up sooner.

thatsprettyshady

3,784 posts

172 months

Friday 17th May
quotequote all
21TonyK said:
thatsprettyshady said:
21TonyK said:
It is indeed sited on farmland at "Hill Head" which as the name suggests is not really arable.


As you know, this is the place that SWW seem to have been concentrating on. That farm situated opposite, livestock I wonder?
You don't say scratchchinbiglaugh (not funny actually, real PITA, literally)
hehehehe

Metric Max

1,389 posts

229 months

Sunday 19th May
quotequote all
I saw on the news that the water company said the water is now safe to drink.
Water to the kitchen tap should be from the rising main so that should be OK.
But many, perhaps a majority of UK properties have a cold tank which supplies the other taps, I presume I am not alone in cleaning my teeth in the bathroom.
So if the Cryptosporidium is in the tank and can presumably multiply within the tank, it seems to me that only a complete draindown and sanitising of the system could make it safe.
Or am I wrong?

vaud

52,399 posts

162 months

Sunday 19th May
quotequote all
Metric Max said:
I saw on the news that the water company said the water is now safe to drink.
Water to the kitchen tap should be from the rising main so that should be OK.
But many, perhaps a majority of UK properties have a cold tank which supplies the other taps, I presume I am not alone in cleaning my teeth in the bathroom.
So if the Cryptosporidium is in the tank and can presumably multiply within the tank, it seems to me that only a complete draindown and sanitising of the system could make it safe.
Or am I wrong?
Only older houses will have a cold tank and that should be to supply the boiler for water (header tank) / upstairs taps. A very few will supply the whole house. Downstairs taps will be mostly from the main.

Cold tanks in the loft that feed drinking water are not a great idea as evidenced by my day when he found a dead pigeon in his.

21TonyK

11,916 posts

216 months

Sunday 19th May
quotequote all
Not that I wouldn’t trust them as far as I could throw them but we will be on bottled water for at least a week more. Plenty of water collected and delivered to last until next weekend.