Woman distressed over years of 'discoloured' water

Sarah Buckle has been given supplies of bottled water by South West Water

A women said she has been fighting for years to get something done about the discoloured water that comes out of her taps.

Sarah Buckle, 57, from Newquay, Cornwall, said water supplied to properties in Trevemper Road contained nearly four times the normal amount of iron.

She said, following her complaints, South West Water (SWW) had been delivering bottled water to her home for more than a year.

SWW said while iron affected the water's appearance, it was not harmful and did not "pose a health risk". It added that work to replace a section of water main causing the issue was due in the next year.

Ms Buckle said her internal power shower unit and household boiler had been damaged by the water and her bathroom fittings stained.

She claimed when her family washed the water did not "get them clean".

Ms Buckle said: "We should be able to turn the tap on and have water that we can use and drink."

She said she "wept" when she did her recycling, due to the amount of plastic bottles, but said there was "no other way of having fresh water".

Sarah Buckle said other properties on her street had also been affected

South West Water said it had sampled the supply and confirmed the water was safe to drink, however, it appreciated the discolouration could be "off-putting to customers".

It said it was "working with a small number of properties in Newquay which had discoloured water in their supplies".

"We appreciate that discoloured water is unpleasant, and people may be reluctant to use it for cooking and drinking, therefore, we have provided bottled water to customers."

It said the "discolouration is due to iron from the cast iron mains" and "works to replace the section of the pipe are due to take place in this financial year".

The firm said it was "liaising with Highways England to plan work to replace the section of water main that is causing the issue" and added it was "supporting customers with water filters, regular water deliveries, and by flushing the network".