Rent includes water, but water is infected

ACon

Ive just emailed the enviromental health board for my area. Couldnt find a phone number. See what they say, and hope this doesnt cause huge trouble :-/

princeofpounds

See what they say, and hope this doesnt cause huge trouble :-/

You can talk to them anonymously. Landlords normally hate the interference but if you have been given the brush off I see you have little option - water-borne diseases can be really nasty, dangerous even.

Itismehonest

ACon wrote: »

ok thanks I will call the council and see if he's been getting it tested.
we do have filters in our house, we have to replace them every couple of months, which led me to assume water would be safe to drink. He said he doesnt even use the filters in his house, doesnt think its necessary, but his wife has told me that they are on bottled water since the children all fell ill.

We have filters & UV but, as we no longer let to the general public & it's only us living here, we no longer have to have the water tested. Many private owner-occupied farms & cottages have never had either testing or filtration/treatment. The inhabitants over the centuries seem not to have had big problems
Once upon a time everyone knew where to site buildings in relationship to water supply & foul water drainage. It's an art that's been forgotten since just turning a tap or flushing the loo took over.

It's the Drinking Water Inspectorate that deals with this through local authorities.
Environmental Health can get cesspits etc condemned if they contaminate water courses.

ACon

I phoned the drinking water inspectorate and they said they dont deal with private supplies, to contact council. Im waiting on reply I dont expect it any time soon though.

Itismehonest

ACon wrote: »

I phoned the drinking water inspectorate and they said they dont deal with private supplies, to contact council. Im waiting on reply I dont expect it any time soon though.

That's what I said ...... through local authority. The DWI doesn't have people come out to the end user. The council does.

Have you emailed the council or telephoned? I think you'd probably get a quicker response by telephone.

chappers

ACon wrote: »

Ive just emailed the enviromental health board for my area. Couldnt find a phone number. See what they say, and hope this doesnt cause huge trouble :-/

Just phone the main council number and ask for the environmental health dept.

G_M

Itismehonest wrote: »

The latter is pretty unlikely. Water usually comes in from one direction & sewage leaves in another. It is much more likely that the level has got down to such a degree that the sand & grit in the bottom of the tank or well has been stirred up & is coming through the tap as discoloured water.
In fact there is as much likelihood of water having a quality problem during times of heavy rainfall when nitrates etc. get washed off the fields. The tester will usually make allowances for the weather just prior to a test being taken.

While at university many a year ago(!) my friends and I rented the gate house of a large country estate.

We had a silmilar problem, and yes, after water testing and further investigation, it transpired the well supplying water was deeper than the septic tank dealing with sewerage, and yes, the one was flowing into the other......

Trouble was we got evicted for calling in EH. There again, we'd all been pretty sick so it was probobly just as well.

thegirlintheattic

Generally discolored water does not mean it isn't safe to drink. SPEAK to your LL and find out the situation and what the latest tests have said.

If you still have concerns call EH.

Sounds like the water level has dropped very low and so all the sediment has been disturbed.

Werdnal

OP, you should take this very seriously and keep pestering the council - don't just sit back and wait for them to call you, ring them daily until you get an answer.

We have a private water supply. Even if you have filters, they will not be sufficient to clear bacteria and viruses, which is what is making your child ill. You may need proper Uv sterilisation to make the water safe to drink. Especially being on farmland, the water could be contaminated with anything from salmonella to eColi - any of which can have long term health affects on children or anyone with impared immune system. There can also be traces of heavy metals, pesticides and nitrates from fertilisers.

Please take this further with the EHO, even if you find you do cause trouble with the LL. Their family may have some immunity to the bugs in the water, as they have been born and brought up drinking it, but as newcomers to it, your family won't. When my son was a baby, we had problems with our supply, and just to make sure he was safe, I bought cheap bottled water to make up his bottles. We have since installed Uv, filters and a pH correction system, and recent water test came back 100% fine.

The regulations changed in 2010, and all Councils were obliged to compulsorily test all water supplied to private dwellings. You might find this helpful:

http://dwi.defra.gov.uk/consumers/advice-leaflets/PWS-newregs.pdf

Ring the council again and ask whether the water was ever tested under the new regs. If your LL is making money renting a property to you, they are legally bound to provide a safe water supply, and even if you fear they may evict you for stirring it up, they cannot let to anyone else without complying to the regulations.

Itismehonest

Werdnal wrote: »

The regulations changed in 2010, and all Councils were obliged to compulsorily test all water supplied to private dwellings. You might find this helpful:

http://dwi.defra.gov.uk/consumers/advice-leaflets/PWS-newregs.pdf

Before everyone with their own private supply to their home panics.

"If the house you and your family live in is the only property supplied by a water source, and only your family drink the water, the local authority will only take a sample if you ask them to."

Compulsory testing does not apply in this sort of case, whereas for the OP who rents it does.