One of them is “just add lemon” South West Water!

The drinking water regulator for England and Wales has brought only three prosecutions against water companies for providing poor quality water since 2021, despite 362 instances in which water was flagged as being unfit for human consumption.

Helena Horton www.theguardian.com 

Periodically, members of the public or companies have informed the Drinking Water Inspectorate about water that has not been not safe for human consumption. In those instances, the DWI can issue legal instruments that require companies to put in place a package of measures.

The problems range from old pipes causing discoloured water to a deteriorating water-treatment process. Improvement measures vary from replacing pipes to rebuilding water-treatment works.

Figures reveal only a tiny fraction of these legal instruments led to a prosecution. Water companies are under a legal obligation to provide safe drinking water to their customers.

Since 2021, the DWI has brought three prosecutions: against Southern Water and South West Water in 2022 and Wessex Water in 2023. It also gave two cautions: against Thames and Southern Water in 2023.

Southern’s prosecution related to water contaminated with sodium hypochlorite that resulted in drinking water containing chlorate above the World Health Organization’s recommended guidelines. The company was fined £16,000 and a victim surcharge of £170.

South West Water was fined £233,333 and a victim surcharge of £170 for providing water unfit for human consumption. It was brown and had a strange odour, and the company responded at the time by telling customers to add a slice of lemon to remedy the taste.

Similarly, Wessex Water was prosecuted for supplying water unfit for human consumption due to its appearance and taste. It was fined £280,000 and a victim surcharge of £190.

The DWI can take prosecutions forward when there is evidence an offence has been committed, such as providing water that is not fit for human consumption, where the company does not have a defence that it took all reasonable steps and exercised all due diligence, and when such a prosecution is regarded as being in the public interest.

In the run-up to the general election, the Liberal Democrats have announced plans for “blue flag” rivers and, if elected, the party said it would set legally binding targets to prevent sewage dumping in those sites. Blue flag rivers would also give special protected status for swimmers and wildlife.

Ed Davey and the Lib Dem parliamentary candidate Jess Brown-Fuller during a visit to Birdham Pool Waterside and Marina to announce his party’s plans to abolish Ofwat. Photograph: Andrew Matthews/PA

The Lib Dems also pledged to protect coastal marine wildlife, which would expand the blue belt of marine protected areas to cover at least 50% of British territorial waters by 2030.

The Lib Dems also plan to abolish Ofwat, the water regulator for England and Wales, and introduce one with greater powers. The party also wants to ban bonuses for water company executives.

Last month, unsafe drinking water led to more than 100 cases of cryptosporidium in Brixham, Devon. About 17,000 households and businesses were told by South West Water not to use tap water for drinking without boiling and cooling it first after the parasitic disease was detected in the supply. People have also been falling ill in Beckenham, south-east London, prompting Thames Water to test the supply for a potential cause.

The Guardian understands Labour is also considering adding an overhaul of the regulators to its manifesto.

The Lib Dem environment spokesperson, Tim Farron, said: “It is a national scandal that drinking water is being contaminated by profiteering firms [that] show complete disregard for public health and the environment.

“Toothless regulators and failed Conservative ministers are allowing water firms to get away with this. A slap on the wrist for contaminated water is not enough. This shows what a farce the regulations are.

“The Liberal Democrat bold plan to bring in a new water regulator, ban bonuses and reform water firms will crack down on this scandal. Under this Conservative government, water company bonuses and profits have soared while water supplies have suffered, all while sewage is destroying beaches and lakes.”

The Drinking Water Inspectorate declined to comment.

Another eye roller.

Rishi Sunak doesn’t escape the “small boat” problem while taking Coffee and doughnuts at a Henley rowing club.

If nothing else you have to admire the timing! – Owl

The Liberal Democrats launched their campaign for the Exmouth and Exeter East constituency on Saturday (June 2).

Adam Manning www.exmouthjournal.co.uk

Supporters gathered at Exmouth Football Club to mark the official campaign launch of Paul Arnott, Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate for Exmouth and East Exeter.

Other candidates standing in Exmouth and East Exeter constituencies include David Reed for the Conservatives, Helen Dallimore for the Labour Party, Olly Davey, Green Party and Daniel Wilson for the Independents, and Garry Sutherland for the Reform Party.

The Lib Dems say they ‘are currently positioned as the main challenger to the Conservatives in the new constituency.’

Cllr Arnott has been leader of East Devon District Council heading up a Democratic Alliance of LibDems, Independents and Greens for the last five years.

Independent candidate, who stood in the 2019 election Claire Wright is backing Arnott and the Lib Dems because “only the Lib Dems can beat the Tories in the contest for the seat”.

She added: “I am backing Paul to win because he is decent, hard-working and tough, but also incredibly compassionate with a laser-like focus, leaving no stone unturned when justice is at stake. Paul will make a strong and wonderful MP.”

Cllr Arnott, added: “Both myself and Claire share the same values and we hope that the thousands upon thousands of constituents who were loyal to her will lend their votes to myself, resulting in a win for the Lib Dems – and ultimately, a win for the people of Exmouth and East Exeter.”

He told his supporters: “I never wanted to become a parish councillor in 2007, but I had to because of the sitcom that was playing out on my doorstep which wasn’t serving the people well.

“I never wanted to become a district councillor in 2019 but due to the well-known concerns about Conservative probity in planning, I had to. I did not expect to become Council Leader in 2020, leading it through and beyond the Pandemic.

“It was never in my life’s plan to run for a member of parliament, but I was asked to by many people. Now I can draw on the depth of my experience to make a difference where it’s so desperately needed.

“I am honoured the Lib Dems have put their trust in me and I will seize this opportunity to make things better here for everyone.”

Hospital patients are “dying in corridors”, nurses have warned as they declared a “national emergency” in the NHS.

news.sky.com 

Patients are regularly treated on chairs in corridors for extended periods of time – and sometimes even days, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has said.

They are also receiving cancer diagnoses in public areas, and may have to undergo intimate examinations there too, the union added.

A survey of almost 11,000 frontline nursing staff across the UK shows the practice has become widespread, the RCN said.

When asked about their most recent shift, almost two in five reported delivering care in an inappropriate area, such as a corridor.

Patient privacy and dignity had been compromised, almost seven in 10 said.

“You wouldn’t treat a dog this way,” one nurse said.

Another nurse recounted a patient with dementia being in a corridor for hours without oxygen.

They said: “When I arrived, she was in a wheelchair on a corridor with her daughter. She was extremely agitated, crying and confused. This care environment for any patient, never mind with dementia, was completely inappropriate.”

The RCN’s acting general secretary, Professor Nicola Ranger, will declare a national emergency at the start of the union’s annual conference.

The organisation will also publish a report on clinical care in inappropriate areas.

In order to show how widespread the practice has become, the RCN is calling for mandatory reporting of patients cared for in corridors.

“Our once world-leading services are treating patients in car parks and store cupboards,” Prof Ranger will tell delegates.

“The elderly are languishing on chairs for hours on end and patients are dying in corridors. The horror of this situation cannot be understated.

“It is a national emergency for patient safety and today we are raising the alarm.”

She will add: “Receiving a cancer diagnosis in a public area isn’t care. It’s a nightmare for all involved. We need to call it out as nursing staff, and health leaders and ministers need to take responsibility.”

Corridor care is a “symptom of a system in crisis”, the RCN’s report says, with patient demand in all settings, from primary to community and social care, outstripping workforce supply.