Mystery of 'strange tasting water' that left hundreds without supply for days

06 February 2024 , 13:35

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Residents in a Cambridge village had to be given bottled water after their supply was cut off for almost a week (Image: Getty Images)

The cause of strange chemical taste which left hundreds of Brits without water for nearly a week has left experts baffled.

Villagers in Fen Ditton, on the edge of Cambridge, were cut off from water supplies for six days in January over contamination fears. People living in around 320 homes were told not to use tap water for anything other than flushing the toilet after reports of odd chemical tastes.

But weeks on, suppliers say the reason why is still a complete mystery. Experts have been trying to work out what was causing the problem on a housing development in the village between January 18 and 24, and weeks later are still no closer to understanding why.

The outage left villagers relying on bottled water to drink and wash with. Samples have since been taken from the supply after residents described it as having a 'chemical taste and smell', but have revealed nothing.

Villagers in Fen Ditton were issued this warning after reports water had a 'chemical taste and smell'

John Trounson, director of Independent Water Networks (IWN), said staff were still working at the site and said: "Believe me, nobody wants to know [the cause] more than us, so we can ensure nothing like this happens again.

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"The tests are ongoing and we continue to sample and investigate on-site so we can find out, and if we're able to, report that back to those that are interested." Engineers said at the time that they would be "collecting samples from targeted locations and flushing water through the network".

"To assist in our investigation, if an IWNL engineer asks you if they can collect a water sample, we'd really appreciate your assistance. All of our engineers will be carrying identity badges, so you can ask to verify who they are."

It comes after hundreds of Brits in a part of Surrey were also left without water in November, when a "major incident" at Thames Water cut thousands off from supplies. Some 13,500 homes are affected by the issue in the Godalming area after the issue which the firm said was caused by Storm Ciaran.

Susie Beever