Yorkshire Water puts Dales villages on ‘boil notice’ after bacteria issue at reservoir

Yorkshire Water said that routine sampling of drinking water at the Starbotton reservoir, in Upper Wharfedale, had “shown it doesn’t meet our usual standards”.

More than 100 houses in the Upper Dales will have to boil their tap water after concerns about bacteria at a reservoir.

Yorkshire Water said that routine sampling of drinking water at the Starbotton reservoir, in Upper Wharfedale, had “shown it doesn’t meet our usual standards”.

As such, 133 properties around Buckden, including Oughtershaw and Hubberholme will have to boil any water they want to drink.

This comes with another heatwave set to scorch the UK this week, with the mercury hitting 27C across Yorkshire today.

A Yorkshire Water spokesperson said: “Routine sampling of our drinking water at our Starbotton service reservoir has shown it doesn’t meet our usual standards.

“As a precaution, boil water advice is now in place for 133 properties in the BD23 5JR,BD23 5JE, BD23 5JA, BD23 5JU, BD23 5JX, BD23 5JS, BD23 5HY, and BD23 5HZ postcode areas.

“We are continuing our investigations to determine the source of the bacteria and have delivered bottled water to customers affected who are on our Priority Services Register.

“Boiling water will provide sufficient protection; however, we understand this is inconvenient for customers and have therefore delivered bottled water to any customer on our Priority Services Register.

“ We are working hard to get things back to normal as quickly as possible and would like to thank everyone affected for their patience. Regular updates can be found via our dedicated webpage Boil Water Notice Starbotton and Buckden BD23 5.”

Sir Julian Smith, MP for Skipton and Ripon, added: “I am in touch with Yorkshire Water on this issue and will remain so until it is resolved, which I hope will happen soon.

“I urge anyone in the affected villages to contact Yorkshire Water directly should they have concerns or require assistance.”