SOUTH West Water was this week accused of treating residents with 'contempt and indifference' by a West Devon councillor this week.
The angry outburst by Tavistock councillor Ted Sherrell came as the council faced an immediate bill of £100,000 following the repair of a collapsed storm water culvert in the town. And future liabilities could amount to millions of pounds, after SWW said it would no longer take responsibility for watercourses.
The ancient culvert running underground at the bottom of Callington Road collapsed in December, flooding homes and bringing misery to the residents. Fire crews were brought in to pump away excess water during the unprecedented rainfalls throughout the Christmas and New Year period.
The council and SWW agreed at the time to effect the vital repair works, leaving the wrangling over who pays the bills until later.
The responsibility has traditionally fallen to the water authority, but SWW has said it wants to offload the responsibility and the costs to local councils and the Environment Agency, and is refusing to pay.
West Devon Borough Council is also claiming it is not liable and has instructed its lawyers to clarify the matter, before possible legal action.
South West Water maintains, under case law dating back to 1805, that the culvert is a watercourse rather than a 'foul sewer' and therefore not its responsibility. A report by the borough's head of environmental services described the implications as 'immense'.
But Mr Sherrell said: 'I'm appalled with South West Water. We have a water authority that won't take any responsibility for water, and treats the residents with contempt and indifference.
'This should not come out of the public purse of West Devon. It is a huge sum. The water authority must take some responsibility for this. It must be their responsibility to look after anything to do with water. If we don't fight it, this will be the thin end of an absolutely enormous wedge. Over the next few years it will cost us millions.'
Mr Sherrell proposed the council should demand repayment in full from SWW immediately, but other councillors felt the legal position needed to be confirmed before they embarked on what could be very expensive legal action.
Councillor Paul Ridgers said he was appalled by SWW's attitude.
'They are happy to collect the rates but don't deliver the services,' he said.
He proposed that the council began talking with other local authorities to fight SWW together, a proposal supported unanimously by the councillors.
'We must fight it. It could set a very expensive precedent for this council,' he said.