Council issues apology after tap water turns putrid brown and smells of petrol

A council has been forced to issue an apology after the tap water in the local area turned a putrid brown colour and began smelling like petrol.

Westminster City Council has said sorry to residents of Morgan House in Pimlico for the issues in the tap water that began in April 2025.

Tenants on the Lillington and Longmoor Gardens Estate have been living with concerns about their water supply for more than a year, with many still too frightened to drink from their taps due to what they regard as inadequate testing by the council.

During a meeting on July 7, council officers committed to issuing a formal written apology to every resident in the block.

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They also pledged to carry out comprehensive testing across all relevant water supplies in the building to confirm the water is safe for consumption, alongside a full investigation into what caused the discolouration and foul odour.

Ernest Stafford, an estate resident, spoke out after the July 7 meeting, saying: "No resident should ever smell a petrol-type substance in their tap water.

"Industry guidance says any hydrocarbon odour should trigger an immediate investigation.

"Instead, residents spent a year doing the work themselves - we had to become Erin Brockovich while being blocked and brushed aside.

"The housing function wasn't equipped to deal with such an incident: the councillor responsible lacked the experience, officers didn't follow guidance or established due diligence, and Stuart Love, the [Westminster City Council] CEO, didn't intervene."

Throughout the last year, the council maintained that Thames Water's supply was at fault.

Thames Water, however, stated that its own tests on the incoming water revealed no problems.

Residents reported that hot water taps were also affected.

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The council pointed to statutory pH tests conducted in the plant room on the hot water supply, which returned normal readings, however standard pH analysis is incapable of detecting hydrocarbons or fuel contamination in water.

It was not until June and July 2025 that the council carried out hydrocarbon-specific testing on all three of the building's water supplies, with results coming back normal.

The council's explanation to residents attributed the brown discolouration to iron sediment that had been disturbed within the tank.

The Housing Ombudsman concluded there had been "service failure" in how the council dealt with the brown water crisis.

Its report determined that the landlord failed to record the incident in accordance with its own housing emergency protocol and was slow to notify the water company.

Council officers have agreed to implement the ombudsman's recommendations as part of the commitments made at the July 7 meeting.

The toll on residents has extended beyond anxiety about drinking their water.

By June 2025, tenants had told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that the foul water had persisted for at least two months and that they were suffering from irritated, itchy skin.

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