This is an update for our customers in Darlington following the precautionary boil notice issued earlier today.
A technical fault at Broken Scar Treatment Works, in the early hours of Tuesday 1st February, caused a very small amount of the water to leave the site without the correct level of disinfection.
The fault at the treatment works was immediately fixed, however as some of the water did get into the water network, a temporary and precautionary “boil water” notice was put in place for customers in the area.
Although the boil notice remains in place this evening this is purely a precaution and we believe the risk to customers to be low based on our test results so far.
We are waiting for the further results coming back to find out if there are any ongoing issues with the water quality in the area and we will know more tomorrow. We will keep customers updated.
This evening, teams of employees have been out delivering boil notices to customers’ homes in the postcodes impacted and this will continue tomorrow morning. They are ensuring those who are affected have been notified and are answering any questions they may have.
To reiterate, the postcodes that are included in this boil notice are only the ones in Darlington that start with:
DL1 1, DL1 2, DL1 3, DL1 4, DL1 5, DL2 1, DL2 2, DL3 0, DL3 6, DL3 7, DL3 8, DL3 9
There had been some confusion that people in DL11 , DL12, DL13, DL14 and DL15 areas were included in this. We can confirm that this is not the case.
We have produced a map that shows the areas included in the precautionary boil notice marked for guidance.
We have delivered bottled water supplies to customers in the area who are on our Priority Services Register and who are identified as being vulnerable. We are also working with the Local Authority to offer support and alternate water to schools, nurseries, and care homes in Darlington.
Anyone who wishes to add themselves to our Priority Services Register and who needs extra support can do so on our website here www.nwl.co.uk/priority
Any customers who need to speak to us in an emergency can call us on 0345 7171100 or on our social media channels. We are asking that people only ring if an emergency to help keep our phone lines free for vulnerable customers.
We have a list of FAQs on the situation that we are updating here - www.nwl.co.uk/help/broken-scar-faqs/