South West Water (SWW) has been criticised for increasing dividends to shareholders in the middle of the cryptosporidium outbreak while thousands are still having to boil their tap water.
So far, there have been 57 confirmed cases of cryptosporidiosis, which causes vomiting and diarrhoea, with hundreds more reporting symptoms.
Although the boil notice has been lifted for some 14,500 properties in the Alston supply area, 2,500 homes in Hillhead, Brixham and Kingswear are still having to boil their tap water, with SWW declining to say when the notice will be lifted.
The boss of SWW, Susan Davy, is due to be questioned by a parliamentary committee about the incident on June 5.
Meanwhile, SWW’s parent company, Pennon Group, announced a 3.8 per cent increase in their dividend payout to shareholders, as profits have increased by 8.6 per cent to more than £166 million up to March this year.
In response to the crisis, SWW hosted a series of ‘pop-up’ events in Brixham last week, aimed at providing answers to customers and offer support for compensation claims.
However, residents quizzed by this paper afterwards said they were disappointed with SWW’s response.
Brixham resident Tony Dyhouse said he was “furious”.
“They were unable to explain why they insist they tested the water when some people had already said they were ill,” he said.
Mr Dyhouse, who contracted cryptosporidiosis along with his wife, added: “We’re furious with SWW’s performance and we’re equally furious that the CEO is still in place. She has failed miserably in her job. She should either be dismissed or resign.”
Tanya Matthews, who was one of the first residents on social media to report that people were falling ill, accused SWW of being slow to respond to the incident.
“If if hadn’t been for the posts on social media, would we ever have found out? We should have been put on a boil notice instead of them telling us that our water was fine,” she said.
Michaela Lewis, who runs the Cosy Cottage B&B, said she had lost £2,800 in cancelled bookings, adding that the SWW event had been “pointless”.
“The information sharing is still incredibly poor. There is nobody here at senior level to come and talk to us, and most of the questions we’re asking can’t be answered,” she said.
Both women called on SWW’s CEO, Susan Davy, to resign. Ms Lewis said: “How could you possibly be dense enough to talk about shareholder dividends and record profits when people are sick from her incompetence at managing a water company?”
It is not the first time SWW has faced an outbreak of the parasitic disease. In 1995, about 575 people were reportedly struck down with the disease in the Torbay area.
SWW declined to say how often it tests the tap water supply, except to say that monitoring “is carried out in line with the current water quality regulations”.
Brixham resident John Street, who also attended one of the events, said: “They should be putting more effort into monitoring more frequently at the point of supply since there is a history of an issue in this area.”