Discoloured water remains after mains pipe burst

Some residents are still reporting brown water on Wednesday

Some residents in Cornwall have complained their water is still brown after the repair of a burst main.

Postcodes from TR1 to TR16, which includes St Agnes and Roseland, were left with low pressure or no water on Tuesday, forcing the closure of two schools.

South West Water (SWW) said it had repaired the burst main but some people were still reporting water discolouration despite running their taps overnight.

The utility said brown or yellow water was caused by the disturbance of "natural sediments" including iron and manganese metals that can build up over time in the pipe.

South West Water customers can claim a run-off allowance for discoloured water

"We are sorry to customers who experienced lower water pressure or a loss of water supply," it said.

"Some customers may find that their water is discoloured - whilst this is not harmful, we advise not to drink it and are asking customers who are experiencing discoloured water to run the water from their cold kitchen tap until it clears."

SWW said customers could claim a run-off allowance to repay them for any water used to clear the line.

'Disgraceful'

Steve Rogers in St Agnes said his tap water looked like "coffee" on Wednesday morning, and had been off between 08:00 and 14:00 BST on Tuesday.

He said: "When it first came back on it was reasonably clear.

"This morning [Wednesday] it was revolting - we keep running taps... I've just filled a basin in the bathroom up with water and drained it out and there's like a sediment in the bottom of it.

"I know they're saying on their website not to drink it - well they're not kidding, I wouldn't even like to wash in it now."

Mr Rogers said it was "disgraceful" considering residents had "lost the water here two weeks ago".

"I just don't think they're fit for purpose," he said.