Cryptosporidium detected in Brixham water supply affecting around 16,500 households and businesses

South West Water has confirmed that cryptosporidium was detected in the Brixham area supply in May 2024, and that around 16,500 households and businesses were issued with a boil water notice advising them not to consume their drinking water without boiling and cooling it first¹. The company says it was alerted to reports of illness in the area by the UK Health Security Agency, carried out additional testing, and issued the notice to the areas that could be affected, together with the Alston area as a precaution, once results a day later confirmed the parasite had been detected².

On Saturday 18 May the boil water notice was lifted for around 14,000 properties in the Alston supply area after water quality monitoring results confirmed no cryptosporidium¹. Around 2,500 properties in Hillhead, upper parts of Brixham and Kingswear remained subject to a boil water notice at that point¹. South West Water later said it had worked around the clock for eight weeks to provide bottled water to thousands of customers, flushed over 34km of water pipes 27 times at high velocity, carried out 17 phases of ice-pigging and swabbing, and installed ultraviolet solutions and microfilters within the network². It said a filtration system and ultraviolet treatment had been installed in Brixham, Hillhead and Kingswear to provide long-term additional protection².

The company has since reported that ultraviolet treatment and microfiltration were installed at the inlet and outlet points of both Hillhead and Boohay reservoirs, with microfiltration in each supply zone, and that it samples from seven locations in the network for cryptosporidium and publishes the results on its website³. It said it has replaced a water main supplying cottages near Hillhead Reservoir and properties adjacent to Hillhead Farm, and replaced one of the outlet mains from Hillhead into Brixham³. It has issued compensation to all customers, with another 4,000 homes and businesses receiving additional compensation due to illness or loss of business³.

South West Water held drop-in sessions at Scala Hall, Brixham Town Hall, New Road, Brixham, TQ5 8TA, from 12pm to 5pm on 23 May and from 12pm to 7pm on 24 May, with staff available to discuss water quality, network operations, compensation claims and customer support¹. Following safety advice from UKHSA, the company asked people not to attend if they were showing symptoms of cryptosporidium¹. Affected customers and businesses who could not attend were given the customer service number 03332 343 293¹.

Why it matters for households

The notice affected around 16,500 households and businesses at its height, with around 2,500 properties in Hillhead, upper parts of Brixham and Kingswear still covered after the Alston area was released¹. South West Water says it lifted the notice in line with principles agreed with public health partners, including the UK Health Security Agency and the local authority's Environmental Health department². The company describes cryptosporidium as a tiny parasite from the faeces of animals with a tough outer shell that can survive for weeks in water, including chlorinated swimming pools or water supplies, and says it is spread by swallowing untreated raw water². It states that incidents of this kind are very rare in respect of drinking water in the region and the UK as a whole³. Households can read the site's guidance on cryptosporidium outbreaks, a boil notice checklist and what to do if you get a boil water notice, with further material in the water hub.

What happens next

South West Water says it is fully co-operating with and supporting the Drinking Water Inspectorate's investigation into what happened². It says it continues routine weekly sampling, enhanced testing beyond its standard level, and regular microbiological sampling from the outlets of the Hillhead and Boohay service reservoirs, and that it is putting cladding around the ultraviolet and microfiltration installations to make them permanent³. It also says it will compile and review its key learnings and share them with the rest of the UK water industry². No outcome or timetable for the Drinking Water Inspectorate investigation has been reported.