Furious man fears murky brown tap water is making his mother-in-law, 91, ill

A man is furious about the "contaminated" water supply he claims made his 91-year-old mother-in-law ill.

Stephen Whyteside, 40, of Lanarkshire, Scotland, says the murky brown liquid has been flowing from his taps for the past five weeks.

Scottish Water has assured residents that the brown liquid is "safe to drink".

In a picture shared with the Daily Record, Stephen's bathtub can be seen filled with foul-looking and foaming water, which he claims is worse than it was previously.

Stephen lives with husband Michael Burns and his 91-year-old mum, Margaret Burns, who became ill after consuming the brown liquid.

There have been several reports from Lanarkshire, which borders the south-east suburbs of Glasgow, of discoloured water spouting from residents' taps.

Stephen told The Record : "There's been talk about the water all over social media, when I posted it today there were people commenting on it that across Lanarkshire there has been sickness and diarrhoea and a lot of people are linking that to the water.

"My mother-in-law has been ill for the past two weeks and has been on antibiotics.

"She always drinks from the tap because she has low immunity, and has to stay hydrated all the time.

"This is the first point where I have wondered whether it is the water because she's been suffering from a urine infection.

"She drinks lots and lots of water, so the water is going in, and is in that part of her body.

"So when I speak to the doctors on Monday I'm going to suggest she gets blood tests to see if there is something in her bloodstream that shouldn't be there."

Stephen has contacted Scottish Water and claims it said it's fine to drink from the hot tap.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, water from the boiler can contain lead and other harmful contaminants found in tanks and pipes.

Andrew Walker from Scottish Water told The Mirror has been providing "free bottles of water to customers who ask".

Cake shop owner Stephen says he has been forced to buy bottled water himself as he can't bear drinking the mucky liquid.

He added: "We are obviously still using the water for showering and things like that but we've been having to buy bottled water as I just couldn't drink that.

"There's nothing else we can do, they are telling us that it is a naturally occurring thing and they talk about it as if it has happened before but it hasn't, I've lived in this house for the last seven years and this is the first time I've had to complain about the state of the water.

"It has been really cloudy for the past five weeks but today has been the worst it has been so far.

"At the moment, I'm even considering whether to go for a shower or not as it just does not look safe.

"The fact that when I was running a bath this morning before work and it was foaming, it looks like beer, my husband was laughing saying did you wash your fake tan off in that?"

Speaking to the Mirror, Scottish Water say the issue has been caused by "unprecedented levels of manganese" in the water supply after the record-breaking low levels of rainfall seen in Scotland this summer.

They said the water in the Daer Reservoir, which supplies Lanarkshire, has been historically low this year, and their "usual treatment is unable to deal with the level of manganese in the water".

Spokesman Mr Walker said that while knowing that several customers are anxious and feel uncomfortable drinking the water, the "situation is improving", after carrying out tests last night showing lower levels than before.

Scottish Water's latest statement reads: "We have been working round-the-clock to help our customers affected by water discolouration in parts of Lanarkshire. The issue was caused by naturally occurring manganese levels present in the water supply.

"Following rigorous testing and sampling of the water, together with customer feedback indicating that the situation regarding water quality in the networks has continued to improve today, we believe things are getting back to normal for the vast majority of our customers.

"We’re aware of a small number of customers who might be affected for slightly longer due to the size of the water network that serves the area. This will continue to improve in the coming days. "It’s important to know that you should continue to use your water as normal - for drinking, cooking, bathing and showering. It is safe to use. "As previously indicated, we have introduced additional treatment measures, re-zoned water networks and are sampling water at the Daer and Camps water treatment works (WTWs) and in the local network. "As a measure of reassurance to customers, we are continuing to liaise with the Drinking Water Quality Regulator (DWQR) and NHS Lanarkshire on this matter."

Karen McGuigan, Consultant at Public Health for NHS Lanarkshire, chaired a multi-agency party meeting on the issue.

She said: “Scottish Water has shared details of their sampling data and results and I would like to reassure residents in Lanarkshire that progress continues to be made and that their water is safe to use as normal.”

"We thank everyone affected for their patience and understanding throughout."