WATER bosses have met with a concerned customer who complained about a change in the taste of tap water in Tendring.

Affinity Water confirmed chlorine levels had been increased after residents noticed a change in the taste of their water.

Thorpe Parish Council chairman Dan Land was among those who complained.

In response, the company’s head of water control visited Mr Land at his home to explain the situation.

Mr Land said: “They came to my property and swiftly both turned down hot drinks in preference of water.

“They said the chlorine levels have been upped since February from 0.04 parts per million (ppm) to 0.07ppm.

“To put this into some context, most of London have 0.7ppm – 900 per cent higher.

“NHS England dismiss any notion that the small chlorine increase is causing any skin conditions and the World Health Organisation say you can drink water with 5.0ppm over your lifetime safely.

“The issue over how the chlorine reacts with your kettle and the blue pipe from your washing machine remains and could alter the taste.”

Mr Land said the company was “not going to change its mind” and that the measure is proportionate to ensure drinking water in Tendring, which has historically had very low levels of chlorine added to it, remains safe.

But he added: “I believe the way in which the changes were communicated could have been done better and in a more informed way.”

He also called on the company to run roadshows to inform the public of the changes.

The company last week said chlorine has been used to disinfect drinking water for more than 100 years and is not harmful to health at the levels it is added.

It added: “To ensure the water that we provide remains of a high standard, we slightly increased the amount of chlorine to bring it in line with our other supply areas. It is likely any difference in taste is due to chlorine reacting with internal plumbing fittings, which will subside over time.”