Case Studies

Help my water tastes of sulphur…

20 Dec 2019

July 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

Strawberry pink water - cross contamination incident

24 Apr 2018

By 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

Tapping into temporary events

5 Sep 2017

With 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

Underground room creates odour problem

24 Aug 2017

A 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

Fizzy water

24 Aug 2017

Fizzy 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

Sand in the supply

24 Aug 2017

By 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

Misconnected farm

16 Mar 2017

By 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

Turkeys are not just for Christmas - a farm case study

29 Nov 2016

In 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

Blue water case study

29 Nov 2016

A 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

School backflow incident

17 Mar 2016

A 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