Parasites in Lancashire Water Force Residents to Boil Drinking Water

Residents in the towns of Preston, Blackpool, Chorley, Leyland, Fleetwood and the surrounding Lancashire environs have been told to boil all water before drinking it, washing food or brushing their teeth. The precaution was taken after traces of the parasite cryptosporidium were found in North West water supplies.

The parasite is capable of bringing on cramps, vomiting and diarrhoea and was discovered at a wastewater treatment plant in Preston during routine checks.

Spreading the News

United Utilities, the company in charge of the water supply, were quick to spread the warning among residents. As well as featuring as a major news story on all channels and in newspapers, the body have been posting leaflets through the letterboxes of affected homes and using the power of social media to alert people to the danger.

United Utilities chief scientific officer Martin Padley recognised that the parasite would cause a great deal of inconvenience to many and thanked the residents for their “immense patience”.

“We apologise for the inconvenience but the health of our customers is absolutely paramount,” said Padley in a statement to the press. According to United Utilities, showering, bathing or washing clothes in the contaminated water will not pose a risk but dishwashers should be used on their highest setting and people should avoid ingesting the water at all costs without first boiling it. Predictably, bottled water supplies have been exhausted in several outlets in the region.

Slipping through the System

Clean drinking water is obviously a priority for any community. There are numerous ways of filtering harmful elements out of our water to make it potable and safe to drink, including treatment with chlorine. The article Effective Drinking Water Disinfection discusses in detail the various methods used to decontaminate our supplies, with particular attention being paid to chlorine-based methods.

However, on this particular occasion, it looks as though one nasty parasite has slipped through the system. Cryptosporidium causes a gastrointestinal illness, known as cryptosporidiosis, which normally manifests itself in flu or bug-like symptoms, such as vomiting and cramps. In most people, the symptoms will disappear without any prescribed treatment within a week to a fortnight, but in those with low immune systems (either due to age, infirmity, illness or other pre-existing conditions) are susceptible to prolonged suffering. Indeed, in certain cases, the parasite can even be life-threatening.

As such, United Utilities are taking no chances in their recommendation to boil all water throughout the weekend and even as far as Wednesday of next week. It is believed by this point that all traces of the parasite should have been eliminated from the supplies. As far as how it arrived in the system in the first place, it's thought that a rotten animal carcass - or animal faeces - is to blame. Either way, 300,000 homes are going to be without readily available water for at least the next few days.