Cheltenham councillors concerned over contaminated Pump Room water

Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort after the discovery of mineral springs in 1716

There are concerns over the lack of drinkable spa water in a town, two years after the issue was supposed to be resolved.

In 2021, bacteria was detected in the water at Cheltenham's Pittville Pump Room, making it unfit for consumption.

The cause of contamination is still unknown.

Cheltenham Borough Council said it has been working with The Cheltenham Trust to clean the water tank and system and replace the UV filters.

A new pump was set to be installed at the bottom of the well in October 2021 and councillors had hoped at the time that the water would be available for the public to try by January 2022.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the council spent £378,207 repairing the Pump Rooms in the 2021/22 financial year.

The cost of repairing the pump in 2021 was £7,483.

Finance and assets cabinet member Peter Jeffries said the property team replaced the spa water pump in the well, making the tap operational again.

"Following the repair, the cold water storage tank was cleaned and disinfected following external advice in advance of water samples being taken," he said.

"At the start of October the spa water was tested and the results show the quality of the water was unsatisfactory and not suitable for consumption.

"This means at present the spa water can run but is not drinkable."

"Working in partnership with the Cheltenham Trust, this situation is being monitored."

'Given up'

Councillor Stephan Fifield asked council leaders for an update on the situation earlier in December.

He said: "It's been more than two years since the then Mayor Of Cheltenham invited me to have a drink of the spa waters when they were back available to the public.

"Two years later, we now know that the waters are still not drinkable, and the council have given up their investigation to why the waters are contaminated.

"Unless the council and trust change their plans to get the waters back, we can now assume that 'taking the waters' in Cheltenham has gone forever - and it was under their watch."