Anglian Water probes poor water quality complaints

Anglian Water has launched an investigation after dozens of people complained about poor water quality.

Residents in Whitton, Winterton and Winteringham in North Lincolnshire said that since their water supply was switched to a different source, kettles and showers had become clogged with limescale, while a plumber said he had seen an increase in boilers suffering costly damage.

The water company said the water was safe to drink, but more than 500 people have signed an online petition, and North Lincolnshire Council has called on the firm to take action.

Joanne Davey, who only has one kidney, said she was worried the hard water could increase the risk of developing kidney stones.

She said: "I have to protect my one working kidney at all costs or I could become very ill."

Ms Davey, from Whitton, said the water had always been hard, but that it had been exceptionally bad for the past six months.

"I normally use a water filter but I've noticed recently that the water has started leaving limescale on my kettle even after being filtered," she added.

"It's very worrying for me. I don't want to end up looking for another kidney."

In July 2019, about 5000 households in the Winterton area had their water supply switched from the Winterton borehole to the Elsham borehole.

Then, in August 2024, the supply was switched back to the Winterton one. It was at that point customers began to complain about the quality of water.

Hard water is caused by dissolved minerals, such as calcium and magnesium, picked up as water moves through rocks underground.

The geology of Eastern England makes its water some of the hardest in the UK.

The Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) considers water with more than 300mg of calcium carbonate per litre to be "very hard".

According to readings taken by Anglian Water, water from the Elsham borehole contains 320mg of dissolved calcium carbonate per litre, compared with 469mg of calcium carbonate per litre at Winterton.

Plumber Dan Osborne said he had been called to electric showers, combination boilers and outside taps, all with poor flow.

"We weren't sure what the cause was. Having stripped them down we've found a gritty sandy residue inside," he explained.

"We've had five instances within the last two weeks. This area is a high-limescale area anyway, but this is different to what we'd usually find."

Councillor Rob Waltham, leader of North Lincolnshire Council, said the issue is unacceptable.

He said: "Residents are telling me in significant numbers that they don't feel the water is suitable to drink.

"We're hearing some terrible stories about calcification and how that's impacting on heating systems and all sorts of appliances.

"It's costing residents hundred of pounds to fix and that is not acceptable."

The DWI said it is investigating due to the "number of consumer enquiries received with regards to drinking water quality concerns within the DN15 postal region".

An Anglian Water spokesperson said: "We regularly make changes across our network to keep the taps flowing while we carry out routine maintenance.

"Customers in Winterton were switched back to their original water source last summer, following some work in the area.

"The water across our region is typically hard naturally, and is perfectly safe to drink. However, because this amount of limescale build up is unusual, our teams are carrying out some extra checks to see if anything else could be a factor in the issues that people are reporting."