Park Hill flats Sheffield: 'Do not drink' water notice issued to residents at landmark city apartment block

It is a week since one resident reported a strange odour coming from the tap water at the iconic apartment block overlooking the city centre, saying it ‘smelled a bit like fuel’.

A ‘do not drink’ notice was first issued last Thursday for the whole of the ‘phase one’ building. The advice has since been lifted for residents in wing A but as of this afternoon, Thursday, May 25, it remained in place for people living in wings B and C, which it is understood contain around 150 flats.

Yorkshire Water issues update over water contamination at Park Hill flats

A Yorkshire Water spokesperson told The Star how a customer had got in touch last week to say the water in their flat ‘smelled a bit like fuel’. The utility firm immediately investigated, the spokesperson said, and after finding the water was contaminated issued a ‘do not drink’ notice covering the whole of the ‘phase one’ building.

Further tests confirmed the contamination was isolated to that building, which Yorkshire Water said indicated the issue was with the plumbing, which the building’s owner was responsible for maintaining. Additional sampling earlier this week showed that only wings B and C were affected, and the ‘do not drink’ advice was subsequently lifted for wing A.

The Yorkshire Water spokesperson said: “We’ve been supporting the building company and have offered our expertise and sampling to try to narrow down where it’s coming from. We’ve worked really closely with the building company, with whom we have a good relationship.”

Bottled water has been supplied to residents and businesses at Park Hill while they wait for the issue to be resolved. Yorkshire Water said it could not give a timescale at this stage for when the ‘do not drink’ advice would be lifted for all flats and businesses.

Park Hill management firm explains what is being done about water contamination

Caroline Millington, director of private sector management at Plumlife, which manages Park Hill, said: “We continue to work alongside Yorkshire Water, using their expertise, to investigate the cause of the water contamination at Park Hill. We have provided plans of the water system and details of the recent water tank cleans as requested by Yorkshire Water.

“Do Not Drink advice is still in place for residents of Flank B and C, but has now been removed for residents of Flank A. Bottled water is still available for collection and is being provided by Yorkshire Water.

“Following significant investigations completed by Yorkshire Water, Plumlife received instructions to complete a precautionary clean of the cold water storage tanks that serve Flanks B and C in Phase One, although this is not necessarily the cause of the issue.

Popular cafe was forced to close for a week due to water contamination

“We are sorry for the inconvenience this water contamination is causing but unfortunately, the cause of the contamination has not yet been identified by Yorkshire Water. These cleans are taking place today and once completed further testing will be carried out.”

Rob Myers, the general manager of the South Street Kitchen cafe at Park Hill, told The Star it had been forced to close last Thursday and was only able to reopen today after being supplied with water tanks to use. It is now open as normal.