Case Studies
Help my water tastes of sulphur…
20 Dec 2019July 2018 was one of those glorious summers, with temperatures in the upper 20’s. You would expect living in a lovely historic cathedral city on the banks of a river, that life couldn’t be better. However, for a few residents, in Diglis, Worcester, became concerned that when they noticed an off smell and taste to their water and turned to their water company, Severn Trent for help. In response to
Strawberry pink water - cross contamination incident
24 Apr 2018By Lee Rawlings, Senior Water Fittings Regulations Technician at Severn Trent Water Strawberries are one of the nice things about summer – but pink water from the kitchen tap! In the summer of 2017, this was the case for residents in Newent, Gloucestershire when they contacted Severn Trent regarding the colour of their drinking water. Residents were reporting that their mains water supply was
Tapping into temporary events
05 Sep 2017With lots of festivals and events happening at this time of year it’s important to know how to comply with UK regulatory requirements associated with temporary installations as these are often not fully appreciated. In this article, Affinity Water shares some of their experience in safeguarding supplies at a large event in their supply area and sign post other helpful information available for
Underground room creates odour problem
24 Aug 2017A water company was contacted by a customer regarding an unusual odour to the water. The on-site investigation confirmed a mild solvent type odour was present in the water at the property and other properties in the apartment block.The water company checked other apartment blocks adjacent and the water was found to be satisfactory with no unusual taste or odour. The investigation quickly
Fizzy water
24 Aug 2017Fizzy blue liquids maybe common in nightclubs, but not coming from the taps. A night club in South West Water’s supply area reported “funny tasting water”. Water samples were taken and the results showed the water had a low pH of 5.6 and high metals content. A do not drink notice was issued and a full water fittings inspection was undertaken by one of the company’s Water Regulations Officers.
Sand in the supply
24 Aug 2017By Dan Smith and Mark Fenning - Affinity Water Network Regulations There are a number of places you might expect to find sand – on the beach, in a playground or a builders’ merchant perhaps! Unfortunately, some consumers found ‘sand’ in their tap water. Over the past two years, Affinity Water has had a number of complaints from consumers about sand or a sand-like substance coming from either
Misconnected farm
16 Mar 2017By Tom Gribben, Northern Ireland Water Taste and odour complaints are not uncommon. However a farm-based incident in 2010 was one of the most unusual. A Northern Ireland Water inspector arrived at a county Armagh farm following a complaint about the water which was coming out of the taps in an en-suite bathroom in the farmhouse. The owner assumed the cause, originated outside the boundary of his
Turkeys are not just for Christmas - a farm case study
29 Nov 2016In this case study a routine sample detects fowl play. As part of its routine statutory monitoring, rather than in response to a customer compliant, a water company in Wales identified a sample collected from a domestic property failing taste and odour requirements. The sample was fully compliant in all other respects. Although this particular water quality failure was not considered by the
Blue water case study
29 Nov 2016A Severn Trent Water customer phoned in complaining that his drinking water was bright blue. The consumer – who was at the time undergoing chemotherapy – had been doing some DIY plumbing work and drained down his system inside the house. This coincided with the appearance of blue water from his kitchen tap. But this was no coincidence. A Water Fittings Inspector called around to the customer’s
School backflow incident
17 Mar 2016A primary school, in the south of England, complained to their local water supplier of warm and discoloured water coming out of their playground drinking fountains. The water supplier was concerned and dispatched a Regulations Officer to inspect and establish the cause. On arrival a cursory check of one of the drinking water fountains confirmed that the drinking water was discoloured. Worse was