Step 1: Flush cold water tanks
If you have a cold water storage tank, or have been away from your property during the Boil Water Notice, you will need to run all your cold taps on full for 30 minutes to flush your system through. If you don’t have a water storage tank, your water is fed directly from the mains so as you have used the water for things like washing and toilet flushing, you will have been flushing your system already. We will automatically apply a run-off allowance to all our measured customers’ accounts for this.
Step 3: Make fresh ice cubes
You will need to discard all existing ice cubes, wash any containers that hold the ice, and remake. If you have a plumbed-in ice machine you will need to discard the stored ice, create a fresh batch of ice (this will flush the plumbing), and repeat. The second batch of fresh ice will be safe to use.
Step 5: Contact us if you have a swimming pool
If you have a private pool and need advice, please contact us on 0344 346 2020 and we can help support you.
Check to see if the Boil Water Notice has been lifted in your area
Start typing your address (including the house name or number) to check.
How we've cleaned and protected the water supply system to be able to lift the Boil Water Notice
Since cryptosporidium was detected in our network we have worked as fast as possible to remove it and make your water safe again. To do that, our teams have:
- Identified the source of the contamination and replaced the damaged air valve casing
- Thoroughly cleansed our network from the tanks down to the mains in your street, using a range of cleaning techniques including ice pigging
- Put a triple layer of protection in place including microfilters and UV at our tank and in-line microfiltration in your supply zone to provide additional barriers.
The map below shows this in detail and where the protections are now in place.
Extensive interventions have been undertaken to both remove and destroy cryptosporidium from the water supply system.
From time to time, we may see low-level detections of cryptosporidium at sampling points even after interventions are complete. Each of these detections is fully investigated and shared with public health bodies.
Investigations undertaken so far have confirmed:
- there is no further source of contamination into the system.
- the levels of cryptosporidium we are detecting are lower than concentration levels that would cause illness.
- the additional treatment we have installed continues to operate as designed and is effectively protecting supplies.
Whilst it is not possible to test whether cryptosporidium detected are alive or dead, it is increasing unlikely they will be in a condition that might cause illness or infection due to time that has now elapsed since the source of contamination was isolated on 15th May. Expert opinion confirms that cryptosporidium degrades over time when in water systems. In addition, any residual contamination has been subject to aggressive cleaning techniques which significantly reduces its harmful lifespan further.
In addition, UV treatment has been installed because it is highly effective in making cryptosporidium harmless, and filters remain in place to ensure residual levels are removed prior to reaching customer homes.
Based on the findings of our investigations the water remains safe to continue to use as normal.
Frequently Asked Questions
We know our customers have questions about what happens when the Boil Water notice is lifted, we've answered the most commonly asked questions below.