EXCLUSIVE Taps in homes 'across the country' could be riddled with dangerous bacteria, expert warns - as 'do not drink' alert is issued for Yorkshire water

Daily Mail​

14-05-2025

Bacteria plaguing North Yorkshire's water supply could infect taps all over the country at any time, experts have warned.
Residents in High Bentham, Low Bentham and Burton in Lonsdale areas, were issued with an urgent 'do not drink' warning after tests revealed supplies contained high levels of bacteria found in faeces.
The affected customers were told by Yorkshire Water to boil their tap water before drinking it, using it to brush their teeth or for washing salad.
Yorkshire water issued the notice after routine testing detected the presence of high levels of coliform bacteria during routine testing.
Coliform bacteria is most commonly found in the digestive systems of animals and people and include organisms like E. coli, which means human or animal faeces has contaminated the water.
But experts have warned the issues that likely led to the contamination of the water supplies in the region are present in every part of the nation.
Dr Simon Clarke, an infectious disease expert from the University of Reading, said Britain's ageing water infrastructure meant the risk of such incidents is on the rise.
'The water and sewage infrastructure in this country is leading to regular sewage discharges into rivers, therefore there is a greater environmental spread of these bacteria,' he said.
He added that coliform bacteria can also wash out from cattle and sheep fields into reservoirs that are used for drinking water supplies.
But he said that in a developed country, like the UK, systems should be in place to stop this from happening.
Dr Clarke said while such incidents could happen in any part of the country, there was currently no need for people not in the affected areas of North Yorkshire to boil their tap water.
'It's not something I'll be doing tonight.'
However, he added that as a nation w need to do more to prevent such contamination happening in the first place.
Other experts said the UK's recent warm weather could also be a factor increasing the risk of such incidents.
As the UK's mini heatwave has seen temperatures up to 29 degrees (84 F), 'the unseasonably dry weather', could be the cause of the high levels of bacteria, says Dr Jonathan Paul, from the Department of Earth Sciences at Royal Holloway, University of London.
'Potentially, this could lead water companies to divert supply or use supplies, reservoirs or groundwater sources they don't normally use.'
He added: 'There could also be potential engineering problems at the water plants where reservoir water is made safe to drink - for instance, they forgot to add a weak bleach solution, or one of the filters broke or was damaged.
'It depends on what was wrong - if there was an issue with a specific supply reservoir, they could just switch back. Likewise, too-low disinfection could be remedied instantly.
Professor Paul Hunter, an expert in infectious diseases from the University of East Anglia, told Mail Online: 'I can't tell you how many detections of coliform happen across the country throughout the year.
'I would be very surprised if Yorkshire Water issued a warning like that without detecting high levels of E. coli.'
While most coliform bacteria won't make people severely ill, their presence in water supplies is considered a warning that other, more dangerous pathogens may also be present.
'If you get lots of coliform then that means something in the water isn't right and indicates there's a problem that needs to be addressed,' adding it is likely there was a process failure in the water system which has caused the overgrowth of the bacteria.
What consumers should be most wary of is E. Coli and Shigatoxigenic Escherichia coli (STEC)—a strain of the disease.
'The main concern is diarrhoeal disease or norovirus, which could cause severe or nasty infections. While catching STEC could be fatal in vulnerable people.'
Yorkshire Water said: 'We regularly check our drinking water to make sure it meets our high standards and during routine tests we've found the water supply in High Bentham, Low Bentham and Burton in Lonsdale didn't meet our usual standards.
'While we investigate this, we're asking all customers to boil their water as a precautionary measure to keep everyone safe.'
The company also advised people who feel unwell in the coming days to inform their doctor about the boil notice.
It added that boiling water should be sufficient to eliminate any of potentially harmful organisms present and that purchasing bottled water is not necessary.
However, supplies of bottled water are being handed out in certain locations if residents are unable to boil supplies at home for any reason.
Anyone affected by the boil water notice will have been hand delivered a form, the company added.