Green water at reservoir 'not cause for concern'

Social media users have expressed concern about the colour of the water in a post on Facebook

A water company has responded to concerns about vivid green water being spotted in a reservoir, explaining this was a natural phenomenon and not a cause for concern.

Jersey Water's head of water quality Jeanette Sheldon was responding to a social media post by a member of the public, which showed a photo of the discolouration at the Queen's Valley Reservoir and asked the water firm to explain what was happening because it did not "look good to drink".

Ms Sheldon said the discolouration was due to a bloom of algae, which was a natural occurrence due to warm summer weather.

She added the algae was not a cause for concern and the water would be treated before any customers drank it.

"First of all, we add very small amounts of chemical, which helps all the algae stick together in big lumps and any other silt or sediment and then we pass it through sand media filters, which filters all the particles out," she explained.

She said the last stage involved disinfecting the water, "which is mainly to deal with any bacteria that might be remaining before we pass it into distribution".

Queen's Valley Reservoir is owned by Jersey Water and is open for people to walk around.

It was partially closed from April, fully reopening around 4 July, due to a rat infestation.

The company said the rise in rodent numbers was due to a small number of visitors persistently feeding the wildlife there.

Queen's Valley is the largest reservoir on the island, holding a maximum of 1,193 megalitres of untreated water, the company added.

This was enough to supply Jersey with water for about 48 days.