Residents in a Welsh housing estate say they have been "left in limbo" after being told they can't use their tap water for drinking or cooking. People living in St Athan in the Vale of Glamorgan have been told to not drink, cook with, or give tap water to their pets by supplier Ancala Water Services.
Residents received a letter from the company at between 3pm and 4pm on Thursday, May 12 advising them only to use the water for washing, laundry and flushing toilets. They have been provided with bottled water which was delivered on wooden pallets by the company to the estate on Thursday night and again on Friday. But locals claim they have not been told what the issue is or when it will be resolved.
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Nathan Norris-Evans, 21, was at home with his mother on Clive Road and said they had little indication of what was going on. “We can’t cook with it, drink it, feed our pets. It’s a right pain in the arse. We got the letter on our doorstep, not even through the door. But we don’t know anything about what the issue is or how long it’s been contaminated for."
“I’ve been away on holiday so I wasn’t drinking it until yesterday but my mum has been here the whole time. They put out bottled water last night but just left it there. We didn’t know until we looked out the window and saw it.
“We’ve got rabbits we can’t give water to. They’ve said if you boil it up it should be okay but they wouldn’t recommend it. That’s not really much to go on. We’ve been told it could be a few days [before it’s back]. We just want answers.”
Susan Johnson, 75, on Livingstone Way said: "It was most unexpected. I was completely shocked. I’ve lived here for years and we’ve never had any problems with water before. Up at the hall I know they were giving out bottles of water. I was able to get someone to drop me over six big bottles. You can imagine me trying to carry a big crate at my age.
“So I’ve got enough to last a few days. I’ve done my washing, the washing up will be fine. You just have to get on with it, what else can you do.”
Ancala Water Services confirmed on Friday afternoon it had issued a 'do not drink' warning to residents in the St Athan area but had no further updates at the time.
One resident who didn’t want to be named said the situation was “ridiculous.” They said: “We didn’t know anything about it until we got a letter in the door about 3 o’clock yesterday. We don’t know what’s wrong, we were just told it was contaminated. We can’t drink it or brush our teeth or anything.
“They delivered bottled water yesterday. They said it was coming at 5 o’clock but it came at 8 o’clock. Of course everyone was diving for it then. They didn’t tell people to take it based on how many are in their house, so you had some people coming away with a few crates while others got nothing. We don’t know when it’s coming back. It’s absolutely shocking.”
Another resident who didn’t want to be named said: “We’ve got a six-month-old baby and we weren’t told about this until Thursday afternoon. We were making her bottles. The water was boiled, but we don’t know anything about what’s wrong except that the water is contaminated.
“They were out at 10 o’clock last night putting out bottled water pallets and it was a free for all. Nobody was checking whether you lived in the estate or anything. We’ve been left in limbo. To be honest it’s concerning. We got a letter through the door and that is all we’ve been told. People have been left ringing to find out what’s going on.” To get news from across Wales straight to your inbox subscribe to our newsletters here.
