Filthy Birkdale tap water

by
5th April 2016

Photo: A glass of Birkdale ‘drinking’ water / Credit Peter Bailey

Filthy Birkdale tap water 

Residents around Birkdale have been experiencing dirty water since early February.

Jamie Hind: “It’s tasted funny for months, only ever buy bottled now to drink!”

Andy Rimmer: “The roads dug up at the end of Claremont, this could be the cause?”

 

Why is Birkdale tap water discoloured?

The quality of drinking water in the North West is excellent but on rare occasions tap water may become discoloured, appear cloudy, or appear to have very small particles in it

Discolouration can range from a light straw yellow colour to dark brown. It can be caused by a number of things including:

  • Naturally occurring substances
  • Disturbance of mains deposits
  • Corrosion of service pipes
  • Internal plumbing issues

In most cases discoloured water is not harmful, and can be cleared by running the first incoming cold water tap (usually in the kitchen) at a trickle until it clears.

Very occasionally we get customer calls about “tiny particles”or “bits” in their tap water. This can be caused by:

  • Planned or unplanned work to the water supply network causing sediment in the pipes to shift (quite often this is a dark red.brown colour)
  • Small dark grey or black particles can occasionally be caused if your pipework is made from lead. This is most likely if your house was built before 1970. Find out more about lead pipes.

For more information, please take a look at our factsheet on discoloured water.

We also have an easy-to-read guide which explains how you can keep your tap water in tip-top condition.

Please note: If your water is blue, pink, green or any other colour not described above, please do not drink the water or use it for cooking purposes until one of our inspectors has visited your property and call us on 0345 6723 723. Dial 18001 first if you have hearing or speech difficulties.

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