Yellow water issues across Bournemouth and Christchurch

After one resident expressed concerns upon discovering the yellow water, South West Water said it was fine to continue drinking.

The resident said that she first noticed the change in water colour two weeks ago at work in Charminster, before she noticed the same change at her home in West Christchurch, some three miles away.

Would you bathe in this? (Image: Reader)

Since we published an article, more people have come forward reporting the same issue.

One Christchurch resident told us: "I called the water company two days ago and again this morning and I’m waiting for a call back again today.

"I’ve been told to run the tap for two hours; this has made no difference.

"They're saying it is due to rainfall but apparently it's fine to drink.

"My children and I can taste the difference and one of my children has reported the water at school being the same.

"It’s expensive using bottled water when we already pay for water supply.

"We have five children and so we are going through 10-15 litres of bottled water a day .

"My neighbour's water is cloudy and discoloured also."

Another Christchurch resident said the water had got worse as the week went on.

"The water company are adament we should drink it - obviously we're not."

A Ringwood resident told us someone from the water company had been out to do tests, but despite being told they would hear back on Friday, they had heard nothing.

Read more: Spotted yellow water from your taps? What you need to know if you have

Other people living in Highcliffe and Mudeford were also seeing the same issues.

Some said it tasted 'off'.

A Bournemouth Water spokesperson told us last week: “We are aware that some customers in the Christchurch and Bournemouth areas have noticed a slight change in the colour of their tap water.

“This has been caused by the recent heavy rainfall, which has resulted in increased colour in the river that supplies the Knapp Mill Water Treatment Works.

“We’d like to reassure customers that we are monitoring the situation closely and that the water is fine to continue to use as normal. We will keep customers updated and we would like to thank them for their patience.”