Tap Water Still Too Dangerous For Hundreds

Thousands of people will be able to drink their water for the first time in 24 hours - but it is still too dangerous for many.

'Water Still Not Safe To Use'

Thousands of people in parts of Derbyshire and Leicestershire have been told they will be able to use their water supply from 3pm. Around 3,700 properties in postcodes DE11, DE15, DE65, DE73 and the LE65 area were told on Friday they should not use water for drinking, washing or preparing food until further notice. 

Postcodes affected by Severn Trent water problems

But Severn Trent has now said that after 3pm on Saturday, just 241 properties will be advised to use only bottled water for drinking.  The water company said the warning was a precaution as a result of "a problem with higher than normal levels of chlorine" at one of its service reservoirs in Castle Donington.
Around 24,000 bottles of drinking water were distributed at Sainsbury's in Swadlincote, and at Tesco in Ashby-de-la-Zouch on Saturday with Severn Trent saying it more to give to people who need it.


Owen Pritchard, who lives in Chellaston, told Sky News he only found out about the warning through a friend who had seen a news report about it. He realised something was wrong when he used his dishwasher, adding: "The smell from the dishwasher was extremely strong of chlorine.

"It smelt a little like a swimming pool," he said. Another resident told Sky's Tom Parmenter in Ashby on Saturday morning she only found out about the problem towards the end of Friday after drinking water all day.

She said: "I don't do Twitter, I don't really do Facebook, I don't listen to the news so I drank water all day yesterday so did all my family. "I was very disappointed by Severn Trent as they texted two of my neighbours and they didn't text us.

I'm not an elderly person  I can go on the website but if you don't know there's anything wrong, you don't know to look. Elderly people who don't do the internet perhaps wouldn't know at all." Local MP for Ashby Andrew Bridgen said lessons needed to be learned.

He told Sky News: "We have had a communication problem. Obviously the message got out, through the media and social media, but not everyone has access to that. A lot of people claim they've heard it from their neighbours.

"In the good old days we used to have people going around with megaphones informing people of things like this and perhaps that isn't a bad idea. Perhaps we need to review how we get things like this out to the people."

Severn Trent said anyone who had drunk the water but did not notice a strong chlorine taste or smell was unlikely to have been harmed.