A warning issued to more than 300,000 households in Lancashire to boil their drinking water has been partially lifted, the water company United Utilities has said.
Residents have been forced to avoid drinking tap water for three weeks, following the discovery of a parasitic bug outbreak.
The “boil water notice” is now being gradually lifted, starting with 80,000 homes who were given the all-clear at 6pm on Thursday.
A United Utilities spokesman said: “With immediate effect, customers in certain parts of Blackpool, Chorley and Preston can drink from the tap as normal and are no longer required to boil their water.
“The lifting of the boil water notice only applies in certain postcode areas. For all other customers, the boil water advice remains in place until further notice.”
The cryptosporidium bug, which can cause diarrhoea and abdominal cramps, was originally found at a water treatment plant in Preston on 6 August.
Local residents have expressed anger over the amount of time it has taken the company to resolve the problem. Speaking to the Guardian, Adam Jenkinson, a parish councillor in the affected area, said: “People are not happy. There is quite an aged population around this part of Lancashire. It’s quite a menace for them.
“They have to get water every day, and a lot of them only get out once a week. Some have got to rely on neighbours, or families. Even if they can buy their own, they can only carry small bottles, not five-litre canisters.”
United Utilities firm is facing a multimillion pound compensation bill from businesses who were forced to shut down or operate at reduced levels because of the water warning. The water company said it would deal with such claims on a case-by-case basis.
Gary Dixon, customer services director at United Utilities, said: “We’re working tirelessly to ensure we can lift the boil notice for our customers as quickly as possible and we are grateful for their ongoing patience and understanding. We are hoping to lift further areas in the coming week but only when we are completely satisfied that the there is no risk to public health.”
In a statement on its website, United Utilities said: “We always said that we would lift the boil water notice as soon as we were able to in those areas where there was no longer a risk to public health.
“We will continue our work to remove the bug from all parts of the Lancashire network and will lift the boil water notice in further areas as and when we are able to do so.”
It advised people to check for their postcode on the website or ring the company helpline on 0800 9127241.
