Residents '˜frustrated and let down' by South Yorkshire water problems

South Yorkshire residents said they felt frustrated and let down after spending hours waiting for deliveries of water that was safe to drink.
Yorkshire Water delivers bottled water to Moorends after a bacterial contamination made supplies unsafe to drink.Yorkshire Water delivers bottled water to Moorends after a bacterial contamination made supplies unsafe to drink.
Yorkshire Water delivers bottled water to Moorends after a bacterial contamination made supplies unsafe to drink.

People living in the DN8 postcode, which includes Thorne, Sandtoft and Moorends, were told not to drink their tap water because of a bacterial contamination yesterday (July 29).

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Yorkshire Water has been delivering bottled water to affected places since the problem was reported. But some people in the affected area said they had been waiting hours with little or no communication.

The problem particularly affected elderly residents, some of whom had to walk long distances to pick-up points.

Speaking outside Moorends Comrades Club in Marshland Road, Moorends, one 84-year-old man, who asked not to be named, said he had already walked up but had to go home and come back because there was no water left.

Yorkshire Water delivers bottled water to Moorends after a bacterial contamination made supplies unsafe to drink.Yorkshire Water delivers bottled water to Moorends after a bacterial contamination made supplies unsafe to drink.
Yorkshire Water delivers bottled water to Moorends after a bacterial contamination made supplies unsafe to drink.

“They were supposed to fetch me some to my door, but then they phoned up and said they wouldn’t be coming,” he said.

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“I’m 84 years old. I’m not feeling too bad now but I’ve got to take my tablets.”

A woman, 60, who also asked not to be named, said: “I walked down here at 10am and it’s 2pm now. I struggled to walk all the way here.

“I’ve not heard anything or had any contact.”

Yorkshire Water delivers bottled water to Moorends after a bacterial contamination made supplies unsafe to drink.Yorkshire Water delivers bottled water to Moorends after a bacterial contamination made supplies unsafe to drink.
Yorkshire Water delivers bottled water to Moorends after a bacterial contamination made supplies unsafe to drink.

Thankfully a lorry carrying 24 pallets of bottled water turned up just after 2pm.

Thorne Moorends town councillors were at the club to pass messages from Yorkshire Water on to residents and try to keep people calm. Mayor Susan Durant and her deputy Mark Houlbrook had already delivered water to some of the more vulnerable people in the community.

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Coun Durant said: “The reaction has been frustration. People are upset and feeling let down because they have been waiting here all day.

“It’s poor communication. I know people are under pressure but we are trying to keep people informed.”

Yorkshire Water delivers bottled water to Moorends after a bacterial contamination made supplies unsafe to drink.Yorkshire Water delivers bottled water to Moorends after a bacterial contamination made supplies unsafe to drink.
Yorkshire Water delivers bottled water to Moorends after a bacterial contamination made supplies unsafe to drink.

The mayor did praise the people she had spoken to at Yorkshire Water for keeping her updated as best they could.

Coun Houlbrook added: “Lessons should be learned and contingencies should be in place.”

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Yorkshire Water says people can now use tap water if it is boiled first.

The affected areas are in postcodes starting with: DN8 4B; DN8 4D; DN8 4E; DN8 4H; DN8 4J; DN8 4L; DN8 4N; DL8 4P; DN8 4Q; DN8 4R; DN8 4S; DN8 4S; DN8 4T; DN8 5A; DN8 5B; DN8 5D; DN8 5E; DN8 5F; DN8 5G; DN8 5J; DN8 5N; DN8 5Q; DN8 5R; DN8 5S; DN8 5T