Incident December 2017

Summary

A request was made for the incident report, costs, and invoicing details regarding the accidental pumping of seawater into freshwater pipes in Douglas in December 2017. The authority provided the report with redactions for personal data and legal privilege, disclosed costs of £14,723.83, and confirmed the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company was invoiced.

Key Facts

• The incident involved accidental pumping of harbour sea water into freshwater pipes around North Quay, Douglas on 07 December 2017.
• Parts of the incident report were withheld due to personal data exemptions and legal professional privilege.
• The total costs incurred by Manx Utilities to date are £14,723.83 inclusive of VAT.
• The invoice for these costs was forwarded to the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company.
• Final costs may increase upon job completion and comparison.

Data Disclosed

• 07 December 2017
• 5 November 2018
• 11 December 2018
• £14,723.83
• 646165

Exemptions Cited

• Section 25(2) of the Act (absolutely exempt personal information)
• Section 40 of the Act (Legal professions privilege)

Original Request

a) Please provide a copy of the full incident report regarding the accidental pumping of harbour sea water into Manx Utilities freshwater pipes around North Quay, Douglas in early December 2017; b) Please disclose the full cots of dealing with the incident; and c) Which organisation(s) was invoiced for the clean-up.

Data Tables (1)

Full Response Text

Manx Utilities PO Box 177, Douglas Isle of Man, IM99 1PS

e: enquiries@manxutilities.im t: 01624 687687 www.manxutilities.im

Our ref: 646165 11 December 2018

Dear ###

We write further to your request which was received on 5 November 2018 and which states:

"a) Please provide a copy of the full incident report regarding the accidental pumping of harbour sea water into Manx Utilities freshwater pipes around North Quay, Douglas in early December 2017; b) Please disclose the full costs of dealing with the incident; and c) Which organisation(s) was invoiced for the clean-up."

Our response to your request is as follows: a) Please find attached the Final Incident Report for the Water Contamination Incident of 07 December 2017. While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information contained within the report because it is absolutely exempt under section 25(2) of the Act (absolutely exempt personal information); and qualified exemption under section 40 of the Act (Legal professions privilege). The reasons why these exemptions apply are explained as follows: Section 25 (2) of the Act (absolutely exempt personal information) • Manx Utilities is satisfied that the information amounts to personal data of which you are not the data subject; and • Manx Utilities is satisfied that disclosure of the information would contravene one of the data protection principles as set out at Article 5 of the General Data Protection Regulation as it applies in the Isle of Man pursuant to the Data Protection (Application of GDPR) Order 2018, namely that Manx Utilities can only disclose the information where it would be fair, lawful and meet one of the conditions for lawful processing in Article 6 and in this case, none of those conditions have been met. • In this instance, Manx Utilities deems the author of the report to have been so directed and as such, is afforded anonymity in favour of the Executive Director.

In this instance, Manx Utilities deems the author of the report to have been so directed and as such, is afforded anonymity in favour of the Executive Director. Section 40 of the Act (Legal Professional Privilege) While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the information is exempt from disclosure under section 40 of the Act as it is information in respect of which a claim to legal professions privilege could be maintained in legal proceedings. As section 40 is a qualified exemption, it is subject to a public interest test. The public interest must be something that is of serious concern and benefit to the public at large. The matters which were considered in applying the public interest test are as follows:

Factors in favour of disclosure • There is a clear, compelling and specific justification that at least equals the public interest in protecting the information in dispute. • Accountability, transparency and furthering public debate. • Public Authorities should be accountable for the quality of their decision making and this may require transparency in the decision making process and access to the information on which decisions were made.

Factors in favour of withholding • The concept of legal professional privilege and the rationale behind the concept i.e. ensuring frankness between lawyer and client, which goes to serve the wider administration of justice. • Decisions by Public Authorities must be taken in a fully informed legal context. • Without such comprehensive advice, decision making may be compromised because it would not be fully informed. • Public Authorities require legal advice for the effective performance of their operations and that advice must be given by lawyers who are fully appraised of the factual background.

In taking these factors into account the Manx Utilities has determined that the factors in favour of maintaining the exemption outweigh the factors in favour of disclosing the information. b) The full costs incurred by Manx Utilities for dealing with this incident to date are £14,723.83, inclusive of VAT. Upon job completion, costs will be compared and may result in the issue of a further invoice.
(These costs do not include any third parties that may have been affected.) c) The invoice of costs to date for dealing with this incident has been forwarded to the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company. Please quote the reference number 646165 in any future communications.

Your right to request a review

If you are unhappy with this response to your freedom of information request, you may ask us to carry out an internal review of the response, by completing a complaint form and submitting it electronically or by delivery/post.

An electronic version of our complaint form can be found by going to our website at https://services.gov.im/freedom-of-information/Review . If you would like a paper version of our complaint form to be sent to you by post, please contact me and I will be happy to arrange for this. Your review request should explain why you are dissatisfied with this response, and should be made as soon as practicable. We will respond as soon as the review has been concluded.

If you are not satisfied with the result of the review, you then have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner for a decision on; 1. Whether we have responded to your request for information in accordance with Part 2 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015; or 2. Whether we are justified in refusing to give you the information requested.
In response to an application for review, the Information Commissioner may, at any time, attempt to resolve a matter by negotiation, conciliation, mediation or another form of alternative dispute resolution and will have regard to any outcome of this in making any subsequent decision. More detailed information on your right to a review can be found on the Information Commissioner’s website at www.inforights.im. Should you have any queries concerning this letter, please do not hesitate to contact me. Further information about freedom of information requests can be found at www.gov.im/foi.

I will now close your request as of this date.

Yours sincerely

Water Network Contamination Incident Date Initially Created: 06/03/18

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FINAL REPORT

Water Network Contamination Incident 07 December 2017

CONFIDENTIAL

Written by:

Engineer

Authorised by:

Adrian Dobbins Executive Director

Water Network Contamination Incident 07 December 2017

Water Network Contamination Incident Date Initially Created: 06/03/18

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1. Executive Summary

1.1. Manx Utilities’ (MU) drinking water public supply network was contaminated at the King Edward Pier, Douglas, by approximately 21,000 litres of seawater around 08:30hrs on Thursday 7 December 2017.

1.2. It has been established beyond reasonable doubt that this was caused by activities being carried out by staff of the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company, whilst hosing down the decks of their vessel the Ben-my-Chree.

1.3. The contamination was due to and as a consequence of breaches of the Isle of Man Water Supply Byelaws.

1.4. When the source of the contamination was established, it was isolated. The supply was only re-instated after a temporary non-return valve had been fitted by Manx Utilities.

1.5. Key personnel were absent from work during the incident, which coincided with various electricity network faults and storm Caroline. Response to the incident was also hampered by adverse weather conditions on Friday 8 December.

1.6. The contamination potentially affected 720 properties, however due to expedient flushing of the network, this number was greatly reduced.

1.7. After consultation with the Public Analyst and the offices of the Public Health Directorate, a ‘DO NOT USE’ notice was issued to customers in the affected area and bottled water was delivered. Water samples were sent to the IOM Government laboratory and to a UK laboratory for analysis.

1.8. The ‘DO NOT USE’ notice was in force from 16:00hrs on Thursday 7 December until 10:40hrs on Friday 8, when it was downgraded to ‘BOIL WATER ADVISORY’. The boil water notice was lifted at 16:45hrs on Friday 8 December.

1.9. Although this was a serious incident, the initial disbelief that seawater could be contaminating a pressurised water network and the slow emergence of information, Manx Utilities’ emergency procedures were not fully implemented.

1.10. Despite the severity of the incident, there were no reports of illness from any customers and all the samples taken during and after the incident and then analysed at the Government Laboratory were free from any bacterial contamination.

1.11. Observations and recommendations are included in section 5.

Water Network Contamination Incident 07 December 2017

Water Network Contamination Incident Date Initially Created: 06/03/18

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1. Timeline (summary with approximate times)

7 December

It is believed that the contamination event took place at around 08.30Hrs. From 09:50hrs on Thursday 7th December 2017, Manx Utilities began to receive phone calls from customers on the North Quay in Douglas complaining of problems with their water supply; the complaints varied from salty taste to tastes of oil/diesel.

Calls continued throughout the morning with customers describing a petrol/fuel smell to water, salty taste, discolouration and petrol film on water.

The Network Operations team were mobilised to investigate the problem. NOTE: The Water Network’s Supervisor was on leave. The Sewerage Network Maintenance Engineer and two members of his team were also sent to investigate; they quickly ruled out any potential sewerage incident.

By 11.30hrs a number of flushing points (locations within the network used to purge the contaminant from the system) had been established, and a judgement had been made that the water supply was contaminated by what appeared to be seawater.

Fortunately, due to expedient flushing of the network, the area where contamination could be tasted was small, but the North Quay District Management Zone contains up to 720 potentially affected properties. At this time, work was being carried out re-calibrating fuel pumps (for boats) on the Quay, using drinking water from a hydrant, but this was ruled out as a potential source of contamination.

MU contacted the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company (IOMSP Co) and the Isle of Man Harbours Operations desk and was told that no abnormal activities were taking place.

The UK Water Inspectorate’s recommended actions in the event of contamination is that all efforts must be made to reduce the impact of contamination on users. To this end, flushing of the water network at multiple points continued.

At approximately 13:00hrs, Manx Utilities’ Chief Executive was advised that the water supplies in the North Quay area were contaminated with sea water. Note: The Executive Director responsible for the water network was absent from work on the 7th and 8th December, due to family commitments off Island.

At approximately 13.30Hrs the Chief Executive informed Manx Utilities’ Chairman and the Chief Executive of the Department of Infrastructure that there has been a water contamination event.

At 13:42hrs it was established that there had been an inflow of approximately 21,000 litres of water into the zone, at 08:30 hrs that day, via the King Edward Pier supply flow meter. This supply was isolated immediately. This indicated that the contamination had come from a privately operated network somewhere on King Edward Pier.

At 13:46hrs the CEO & Senior Officers were advised from site that:

 King Edward Pier water supply was isolated  Staff were flushing at the Barbary Coast
 MK was on the Breakwater investigating

Water Network Contamination Incident 07 December 2017

Water Network Contamination Incident Date Initially Created: 06/03/18

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 The inflow of contaminated water had stopped. MU then began to organise the collection of water samples. At 13:56hrs, MU telephoned the offices of the Public Health Directorate to report the contamination to the Director of Public Health (DPH). Unfortunately the DPH was unavailable, and so the issue of a ‘BOIL WATER’ notice was discussed with the Directorate’s Health Protection Lead (HPL). The HPL pointed out that boiling the water would not alter the seawater or fuel contamination, so recommended that a ‘DO NOT USE’ notice be issued to customers in the affected area.

MU then contacted the DEFA’s Public Analyst and Water Services Regulator, who sanctioned the issue of a ‘DO NOT USE’ notice.

At 14:00hrs MU contacted Robinsons, the Wholesaler, to arrange delivery of bottled water as per its Emergency Response Plan (Water Supply). Two pallets were delivered to Market Hall/Barbary Coast areas, although an emergency had not been declared.

From 14:00hrs, Network Client Services’ staff were notifying customers of the ‘DO NOT USE’ notice verbally.

Shortly after 14:00 hrs, the office based team agreed the best water sample location points with site team and these were:  Noa Bakehouse
 Barbary Coast restaurant
 Manx Legion
 Ocean restaurant – one of the first to contact
 Shoprite, Market Street – further into the District Management Zone, chosen to establish the extent of the contamination
Water samples were taken to test for bacterial and chemical contamination. Furthermore, as the Barbary Coast Restaurant was the closest to source of contamination (and worst affected), it was decided that Cryptosporidium grab samples would also be taken from there. At 14:30hrs an email was sent from the HPL to the DPH confirming that Manx Utilities’ were reporting the contamination incident. The HPL’s email also confirms the action plan put in place by Manx Utilities, namely:  Issue Do Not Use water notice  Supply alternative water  Continue to monitor and test the water in the area affected, Public Analyst aware.  Confirm the area affected  MU putting together a communication plan which Public Health will be consulted on  This is expected to be a short term problem  The reason for the contamination will be fully assessed  MU will keep Public Health up to date with progress and actions At 15:19 the

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