Who was responsible for regulations during the cryptosporidium putbreak

Liz Johnstone made this Environmental Information Regulations request to United Utilities Water PLC
You only have a right in law to access information about the environment from this authority
This request has been closed to new correspondence. Contact us if you think it should be reopened.

The request was partially successful.

Dear United Utilities Water PLC,

I am
A concerned resident of the Fylde coast
Lytham st Annes
And I would like to know who was in charge in way of enquiry and responsibility and regulation.
During the cryptosporidium outbreak?
And just how many people were actually admitted to hospital during the time it prevailed?
And we're there any fatalities?

I hope you can be of help to my queries!
It was a very worrying time for the people of the Fylde.

Thankyou
For you're attention

I

Yours faithfully,
Mrs Johnston

Jain, Rajat, United Utilities Water PLC

Dear Ms Johnstone

 

I write further to your request.

 

Whilst we have had a preliminary discussion with internal colleagues in
respect of your request, unfortunately due to the nature and scope of your
request, it has not been reasonably practicable for us to provide you with
our response to your Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (EIR)
request just yet. Neither do we feel that we are able to make a decision
as to our position on your request just yet.

 

Accordingly, please treat this e-mail as our formal advisory that we will
respond to you by the extended deadline of 12^th August 2016.

 

Rest-assured we are considering your request very carefully and, if we are
able, will endeavour to assist in answering your queries. We may however
have to revert to you for further clarification of your request.

 

Regards

 

Rajat Jain

Legal Department

United Utilities 

unitedutilities.com

 

EMGateway3.uuplc.co.uk made the following annotations

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Jain, Rajat, United Utilities Water PLC

PLEASE QUOTE THE LEGAL SUBJECT HEADER
REFERENCE IN ALL COMMUNICATIONS
 
Dear Mrs Johnson
 
We write further to your e-mail of the 18th June 2016.
 
We are normally obliged to consider your request for information under the
Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (EIR). You can find out more
about EIR by visiting the Information Commissioner’s Office website
[1]www.ico.org.uk .
However in this instance we felt that had we applied that strictly, there
would have been a number of technicalities (known as exceptions) which
could be applicable as a basis for providing information in answer to the
specific questions asked.
 
Instead we would like to  volunteer the following information.
 
Kindly therefore note our response to your specific queries below:
 
…And I would like to know who was in charge in way of enquiry and
responsibility and regulation during the cryptosporidium outbreak?
 
As indicated this question may be difficult for us to answer under EIR.
Please note that no cryptosporidium outbreak was declared in relation to
this event. Advice to boil water was issued to protect consumers in
response to the results of analytical tests. This advice was issued in
consultation with Public Health England. However you may find it helpful
to know that as a water undertaker, we are regulated by a number of
bodies, such as the Environment Agency, the Drinking Water Inspectorate
(DWI), OFWAT, and the Health & Safety Executive. In this instance the DWI
is overseeing this incident. Regrettably we cannot comment on any further
on this at this stage.
 
And just how many people were actually admitted to hospital during the
time it prevailed?  And we're there any fatalities? 
 
We were in liaison with Public Health England throughout the time we
detected cryptosporidium in the water and the boil water advice was in
place. At this time PHE have not made us aware of any cases of
cryptosporidiosis proven to be linked to water supplies. We have not been
made aware of any hospital admissions or any fatalities as a direct result
of the cryptosporidium detections in water supplies last year. 
 
We hope this answers your queries. We have attempted to provide you with
information outside the limitations of EIR. Nonetheless should you
consider that the EIR should have been applied and that we have not
complied with it properly, then we are obliged to inform you that you have
a right to challenge this response for breach of EIR.
 
Should you not feel we have appropriately dealt with this under EIR, you
have the right to ask us to carry out an internal review, by writing to
David Hannon Head of Legal, United Utilities, Legal Department, Grasmere
House First Floor, Lingley Mere Business Park, Lingley Green Avenue, Great
Sankey, Warrington, WA5 3LP. Alternatively, you may find it easier to
e-mail us directly on [2][United Utilities request email] and your review request
will be forwarded on to Mr Hannon.
 
Your request for review should explain why you wish a review to be carried
out, and should be made within 40 working days of receipt of this letter,
and we will reply within 40 working days of receipt. If you are not
satisfied with the result of the review, you then have the right to make a
formal complaint to the Information Commissioner.
 
Finally, kindly acknowledge receipt by return of e-mail.
 
Yours sincerely
 
 
 
Rajat Jain
Data Protection & Fraud
Legal Department
United Utilities 
unitedutilities.com
 
 

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