South West Water’s much-vaunted public meeting this week has failed to allay residents’ concerns over the firm’s conduct during the recent cryptosporidium outbreak.
The meeting, described by South West Water (SWW) as a “community event”, was held amid tight security and behind closed doors at Brixham’s Scala Hall on Thursday (September 12).
Hosted by CEO Susan Davy and a panel of SWW representatives, it was also attended by South Devon MP Caroline Voaden and a number of local councillors.
But residents left the ‘stage-managed’ event feeling angry and bemused, with many still calling for the resignation of Ms Davy. Others reported feeling intimidated by the heavy-handed security.
During the cryptosporidium outbreak, which lasted from May to July, some 17,000 households in Kingswear, Hillhead and Brixham were told to boil their tap water after a parasite got into the supply via a faulty pipe valve.
There were about 100 reported cases of cryptosporidiosis, and dozens fell seriously ill with vomiting and diarrhoea, although many are still reporting long-term symptoms.
At the time, residents accused SWW of reacting slowly to the crisis, which they say led to greater numbers of people getting infected.
The media was banned from attending the meeting, but local business owner Clive Alexander said afterwards: “They kept saying ‘sorry’ to everybody, which means nothing. As far as this Davy is concerned, she should resign. As CEO of the company (along with) her directors, they are the ones responsible.”
Resident Glen Smale, a disabled fibromyalgia sufferer, claimed he did not receive a boil notice at the time of the outbreak and consequently contracted cryptosporidiosis.
“It ruined my kidneys, which I already had problems with. They (SWW) should be locked up. They lie through their teeth, I don’t want their apologies. They have no morals,” he said.
Angry residents also demanded to know why Ms Davy recently accepted a 58 per cent pay rise from parent company Pennon, taking her annual salary to £860,000.
Her reported response was that it was a “cost-of-living enhancement”.
There was also frustration that the firm’s representatives cited an ongoing investigation by the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) for not providing detailed answers to specific questions related to compensation claims.
There was no response either to claims that testing for cryptosporidiosis was ended prematurely in order to keep official numbers low.
Helen Ireland, a Hillhead resident who fell ill with cryptosporidiosis and was still suffering from symptoms, claimed far more people were struck down with the bug.
“The number that they quoted – the 100 positive results – is completely inaccurate. There were eight people in our household that had it, but I was the only one that managed to get a test,” she said.
She also complained about the heavy-handed security at the event. “We had our bags searched on the way in. We were flanked by security all around the room, so it didn’t feel like a very pleasant environment. It was almost like we were (the) criminals.”
Resident Tanya Matthews, who was one of the first people to report the outbreak on social media back in May, also expressed dissatisfaction with SWW’s conduct.
“Susan Davy was asked if she would test all our tap water so that we could gain trust in SWW again, and she wouldn’t give an answer. She just looked at her colleagues that were sat at the table with her and they all looked at us blankly,” she said.
South Hams District councillor Ged Yardy read out a statement afterwards, saying he was “disappointed” that the ongoing legal investigation was preventing access to data.
“It's quite clear that the residents feel that they've been potentially lied to - information could have been deleted, and there’s difficulties in compensation.
“I do appreciate that South West Water are attempting to correct situation, and they are taking some action to do that, but overall, I feel disappointed from the exercise this evening.”
Asked how he felt about Ms Davy, Cllr Yardy noted that she had been awarded “a significant pay rise for what I would consider to be a foreseeable, preventable accident”.
He also called for “some sort of Post Office Horizon inquiry” to establish the full facts surrounding the outbreak.
PR DISASTER
SWW came under heavy criticism over they way it was planning to stage the event weeks ago, when it emerged that residents were being instructed to pre-register and pre-submit their questions.
The vetting procedure was seen as being unnecessarily heavy-handed and far from what would normally be expected from a utility company claiming to be transparent.
It should also be noted that this was CEO Davy’s first public appearance since the outbreak was first reported four months ago.
Justifying the decision, SWW told one reporter that there was ‘restricted space’ at the event. Make of that what you will, but by banning the media, SWW effectively staged a PR disaster.
The sight of a TV crew having the door unceremoniously slammed on the presenter’s face moments before the start of the meeting may yet prove to be a watershed moment in CEO Susan Davy’s career.
Caroline Voaden MP was also unimpressed.
“The press should be in the room. I don't think there's anything to hide. Part of the problem we have here in the community is that there's been a very controlled PR line all the way through this episode, and I think there just needs to be a bit more openness and honesty and trust with the community. It's not the way I would have organized this meeting,” she said.
Water industry veteran Alan Smith, who was SWW’s head of PR from 1990-1995, perhaps summed it up best.
“The manner in which they conduct their press and media relations is nothing short of archaic and so far behind the times it’s more like the Politburo. It’s shambolic.”
A spokesperson for South West Water said: “Last week was a chance for local people impacted by the incident to meet with our teams and to have their questions answered. There was restricted space in the venue and we prioritised customers.”