[R]esidents in Copeland are being invited to some ‘drop-in’ sessions to find out more about recent changes to their local water supply.
United Utilities has arranged the sessions following the switch on of new boreholes at Egremont.
Water from these underground sources started to be blended into the Copeland supply from early June, replacing some of the water supplied from Ennerdale Lake.
United Utilities Water and Scientific Services Director Martin Padley said: “We’ve had contact from a number of customers in the Copeland area who have noticed the new harder water supply. We wanted to set up some sessions to make it easy for people to come and talk to us and raise any questions.
“We tend to take our tap water for granted and when something changes it can cause understandable concern. I can reassure everyone that our regular analysis and monitoring of the water supply shows that even though it’s different it still meets the same high quality standards.”
The drop-in sessions will be on:
- Wednesday 12 July – Egremont Methodist Church, Main Street, Egremont, CA22 2DR, 1pm – 8pm
- Thursday 13 July – The Beacon Portal, West Strand, Whitehaven, CA28 7LY, 1pm – 8pm
Elected Mayor of Copeland Mike Starkie commented: “I have had many residents contact me about their concerns over their water quality and I have been speaking with United Utilities about this issue.
“I am pleased they have listened and are giving residents the opportunity to speak with them direct. I would urge anyone who has concerns to attend one of the sessions.”
United Utilities used to supply the Copeland area entirely with soft water from Ennerdale but this is now changing. The Environment Agency is scaling back the amount of water that can be taken from Ennerdale in order to protect rare freshwater mussels in the River Ehen.
After 2022 the Ennerdale supply must be stopped entirely so United Utilities is building a new pipeline to supply West Cumbria with soft water from Thirlmere instead. In the meantime, the shortfall is being made up using hard water from the Egremont boreholes.
Dr Padley added: “Our team of engineers and scientific staff will be on hand throughout the sessions to answer any concerns and discuss how we plan to develop the area’s water supplies over the coming years. We look forward to seeing people there.”
For more information about the £300m West Cumbria Supply Scheme visit www.unitedutilities.com/cumbria
