Tastes and smells like this can be caused when petrol, diesel or other solvents have been spilt. These chemicals can travel through plastic water pipes and enter your water supply.

You won’t always notice the taste or smell instantly after a spill. It can take a while for the chemicals to contaminate the water supply, sometimes several days, weeks or months depending on the location of the spill and how close it is to your water pipes.

If land is contaminated due to a chemical spill, any plastic water pipes underground in that area will need to be replaced to pipework in a protective coating. We will then check if the pipes connecting your home to the network also need replacing.