Part of the Legionella Data Index · compiled 2 August 2026
n/pConfirmed cases, not published
4Enforcement cases tracked
£3.43mTotal fines in tracked cases
26Towns in the hardness dataset
01 / SURVEILLANCE
Legionnaires' disease in the East of England
UKHSA does not state a confirmed case count for the East of England in the surveillance text. Full region-by-region counts for every English region are not published; the figures that are published are on the national Index. Surveillance counts only laboratory-confirmed, reported cases, so any published figure is a floor, not the true total.
02 / ENFORCEMENT
Prosecutions tracked in the East of England
The tracker holds 4 legionella prosecutions from the East of England, totalling £3.43m in fines (2013–2018).
| Defendant | Year | Sector | Fine | Prosecutor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Bupa Care Homes (BNH) Limited Death/outbreak An 86-year-old resident died of Legionnaires' disease at a Brentwood care home in 2015, months after refurbishment. The company failed to flush and disinfect the system, the manager lacked training, warnings were ignored and records were falsified. Fined £3m, reduced to £1.5m by the Court of Appeal. Source
|
2018 | Care home | £1.5m | HSE |
|
Tendring District Council A member of the public contracted Legionnaires' disease from the water system at the council-run Walton-on-the-Naze leisure centre. HSE found inadequate risk assessments, insufficient staff training and a lack of monitoring across several council leisure sites. Fined £27,000 plus £7,197 costs and a £170 victim surcharge at Colchester Magistrates' Court in December 2018. Source
|
2018 | Local authority leisure | £27k | HSE |
|
G4S Cash Solutions (UK) Limited Environmental health officers inspecting a Harlow cash depot found erratic monitoring, untrained staff and no adequate water-system risk assessment. Legionella was not confirmed on site but workers were exposed to risk. One of the largest legionella fines, brought by a local authority. Source
|
2016 | Security | £1.8m | Harlow Council |
|
Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Death/outbreak A chronic legionella outbreak in the hospital water system in 2006 to 2007 infected seven patients; two died (James Compton, 74, and Raymond Cackett, 54). Shower heads, hoses and thermostatic controls were not maintained. The Trust admitted breaching HSWA s3(1) and was fined £100,000 for the legionella offence plus about £162,000 costs at Chelmsford Crown Court in September 2013. A larger reported total from the same hearing reflected a separate, unrelated incident. Source
|
2013 | Healthcare | £100k | HSE |
The full UK record, its curation rules and the per-sector breakdown are on the Legionella Enforcement Tracker; sector views sit under the Index.
03 / WATER HARDNESS
Water hardness in the East of England towns
15 of 26 towns here carry a reported hardness figure; the rest show a band inferred from the water company's own statement, or an honest gap. Every row names its source and confidence. Scale risk uses the DWI/WHO anchor: scaling begins around 200 mg/l CaCO₃.
| Town | Water company | Hardness (mg/l CaCO₃) | Hardness band | Scale risk | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basildon | Essex & Suffolk Water | 265 | Hard | High | Single source - unverified (WaterGrade) |
| Bedford | Anglian Water | — | Hard to very hard * | High to very high * | Company statement - band only (Anglian Water) Anglian Water states all water in its region is classed as hard to very hard. |
| Braintree | Anglian Water | 350 | Very hard | Very high | Single source - unverified (MyTapWater) |
| Bury St Edmunds | Anglian Water | — | Hard to very hard * | High to very high * | Company statement - band only (Anglian Water) Anglian Water states all water in its region is classed as hard to very hard. |
| Cambridge | Cambridge Water | 301-310 | Very hard | Very high | Two agreeing sources - unverified (MyTapWater + WaterGrade) Two independent aggregators agree; still to be spot-checked against the company checker. |
| Chelmsford | Essex & Suffolk Water | 260 | Hard | High | Single source - unverified (MyTapWater) |
| Clacton-on-Sea | Affinity Water | — | — | — | No sourced data No trustworthy value or company statement sourced for this town yet; use the company postcode water-quality checker. |
| Colchester | Essex & Suffolk Water | — | — | — | No sourced data No trustworthy value or company statement sourced for this town yet; use the company postcode water-quality checker. |
| Ely | Anglian Water | — | Hard to very hard * | High to very high * | Company statement - band only (Anglian Water) Anglian Water states all water in its region is classed as hard to very hard. |
| Grays | Essex & Suffolk Water | 310 | Very hard | Very high | Single source - unverified (WaterGrade) |
| Great Yarmouth | Essex & Suffolk Water | — | — | — | No sourced data No trustworthy value or company statement sourced for this town yet; use the company postcode water-quality checker. |
| Harlow | Affinity Water | 330 | Very hard | Very high | Single source - unverified (WaterGrade) |
| Hemel Hempstead | Affinity Water | 283 | Hard | High | Single source - unverified (WaterGrade) |
| Huntingdon | Anglian Water | — | Hard to very hard * | High to very high * | Company statement - band only (Anglian Water) Anglian Water states all water in its region is classed as hard to very hard. |
| Ipswich | Anglian Water | 260 | Hard | High | Single source - unverified (MyTapWater) |
| King's Lynn | Anglian Water | — | Hard to very hard * | High to very high * | Company statement - band only (Anglian Water) Anglian Water states all water in its region is classed as hard to very hard. |
| Lowestoft | Essex & Suffolk Water | — | — | — | No sourced data No trustworthy value or company statement sourced for this town yet; use the company postcode water-quality checker. |
| Luton | Affinity Water | 320-328 | Very hard | Very high | Two agreeing sources - unverified (MyTapWater + WaterGrade) Two independent aggregators agree; still to be spot-checked against the company checker. |
| Norwich | Anglian Water | 250 | Hard | High | Single source - unverified (MyTapWater) |
| Peterborough | Anglian Water | 200 | Moderately hard | High | Single source - unverified (MyTapWater) |
| Southend-on-Sea | Essex & Suffolk Water | — | — | — | No sourced data No trustworthy value or company statement sourced for this town yet; use the company postcode water-quality checker. |
| St Albans | Affinity Water | 338 | Very hard | Very high | Single source - unverified (WaterGrade) |
| Stevenage | Affinity Water | 320 | Very hard | Very high | Single source - unverified (WaterGrade) |
| Sudbury | Anglian Water | 290 | Hard | High | Single source - unverified (MyTapWater) |
| Watford | Affinity Water | 353 | Very hard | Very high | Single source - unverified (WaterGrade) |
| Wisbech | Anglian Water | — | Hard to very hard * | High to very high * | Company statement - band only (Anglian Water) Anglian Water states all water in its region is classed as hard to very hard. |
* Band or scale risk inferred from the water company's own published statement, not a measured town value. Figures labelled "unverified" come from aggregator sites and should be confirmed against the company's postcode water-quality checker before being relied on. How this dataset is built.
Important
This page is general guidance only. Legionella risk varies with the specific water system, its use, and the people exposed to it. You should consult a competent legionella risk assessor for advice on your premises. LegionellaCheck is an independent information service and is not affiliated with HSE, UKAS, the Legionella Control Association, or any water hygiene company. This site does not provide medical advice. If you suspect Legionnaires' disease, contact NHS 111 or your GP.