A British water company has urged local residents not to drink from their taps after discovering bacteria indicating possible contamination with human or animal waste.
Yorkshire Water issued a boil order affecting nearly 200 post codes across three towns and villages in the region this week, after discovering above-average levels of the bacteria coliform in the local water supply.
Coliforms, which can include bacteria such as E.Coli, are typically found in the digestive systems of humans and animals.
While fecal coliforms themselves can cause stomach pains, diarrhoea and other gastrointestinal diseases, they can also indicate the presence of other more harmful bacteria in a water supply.
The warning was issued for residents living in High Bentham, Low Bentham and Burton in Lonsdale.
But in a new update at 5:15pm on Wednesday, Yorkshire Water said: “We can confirm that we are now able to lift the boil water instruction at all affected properties in the local area as the water is now back to our usual high standards. Customers can now use their tap water as normal.
“We’d like to apologise to everybody impacted and thank them for their understanding and patience throughout.”
In an earlier statement on Tuesday evening, the company had said that boiling water before consuming it was sufficient protection for residents in the affected areas, and that it had also provided some bottled water for residents who were unable to do so or who had a medical requirement.
Prior to notifying residents that the water was once again deemed safe to drink, Yorkshire Water had said it was continuing to take samples to monitor the quality of the local water supply while working to resolve the issue, and was working closely with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).
In an earlier statement, Yorkshire Water said: “Routine testing of the water supply in the local area has shown it doesn’t meet our usual standards, and we are asking affected customers to continue following boil water advice, as a precautionary measure, until further notice.
“Any property impacted by the issue has had a hand delivered notice of the boil order – customers can double check if they are impacted on our website.
“We’d like to remind customers that boiling water provides sufficient protection; however, we appreciate that can be inconvenient and have delivered bottled water to any customer on our priority services register.
“We are working hard to determine why this has happened, and to get things back to normal as quickly as is possible – we thank everyone affected for their patience.”
