The owner of South West Water (SWW) has said it would pay out about £3.5m in compensation to customers affected by a parasite outbreak in Devon.
The government said 16,000 households and businesses in Brixham had been affected by the boil water notice after traces of cryptosporidium, a parasite that causes diarrhoea, was identified in its network on Wednesday.
Pennon boss Susan Davy said the group was “100% focused on returning a safe water supply”, adding that normal service has now resumed for 85% of customers.MSW upped compensation to £215 for customers on Saturday as many were still subjected to boil water advice.
If all eligible customers claimed compensation, the bill to Pennon would be £3.44m.Two people have been taken to hospital as a result of the outbreak. Conservative MP Anthony Mangnall, whose Totnes constituency covers Brixham, has said customers should get a level of compensation they “deserve”.
Ms Davy, group chief executive of Pennon, said: “We are 100% focused on returning a safe water supply to the people and businesses in and around Brixham. Normal service has returned for 85% of customers but we won’t stop until the local drinking water is returned to the quality all our customers expect and deserve.
“Our absolute priority continues to be the health and safety of our customers, and our operational teams are working tirelessly around the clock to deliver this.”
The comments came as PA media reported Pennon’s results showed pre-tax losses of £9.1m for the year to March 31, against losses of £8.5m the previous year. On an underlying basis, pre-tax profits remained flat at £16.8m, the news agency said.
Source: BBC
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