Part of the Legionella Data Index · compiled 2 August 2026
Legionnaires' disease in the South West England
UKHSA does not state a confirmed case count for the South West 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.
Prosecutions tracked in the South West England
The tracker holds 1 legionella prosecutions from the South West England, totalling £300k in fines (2018–2018).
| Defendant | Year | Sector | Fine | Prosecutor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust Death/outbreak A cancer patient died in 2015 after exposure to legionella in a hospital ward annex. A separate water loop feeding the annex, opened in 2009, had never been temperature-checked or tested. The strain was not matched to the system, so the charge was exposing patients to risk. Source
|
2018 | Healthcare | £300k | 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.
Water hardness in the South West England towns
11 of 20 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barnstaple | South West Water | — | Soft to moderately soft * | Low * | Company statement - band only Band inferred from the company regional profile; no published zone value sourced yet. |
| Bath | Wessex Water | 300.7 | Very hard | Very high | Single source - unverified (WaterGrade) |
| Bournemouth | Bournemouth Water | 295.4 | Hard | High | Single source - unverified (WaterGrade) WaterGrade "Poole Town" zone; the zone naming is Wessex-styled, so company attribution is murky - flagged for verification. |
| Bridgwater | Wessex Water | — | Moderately hard to very hard * | — | Company statement - band only Band inferred from the company regional profile; no published zone value sourced yet. |
| Bristol | Bristol Water | — | Moderately hard to very hard * | — | Company statement - band only (Bristol Water) MyTapWater reports 120 mg/l CaCO3 for Bristol, contradicting Bristol Water's own "moderately hard to very hard" statement; the aggregator figure is treated as suspect and withheld in favour of the official band. |
| Cheltenham | Wessex Water | 265.8 | Hard | High | Single source - unverified (WaterGrade) |
| Exeter | South West Water | 40 | Soft | Low | Single source - unverified (MyTapWater) |
| Gloucester | Wessex Water | Withheld | — | — | Conflict: MyTapWater 130 vs WaterGrade 280.8 - withheld The two compiled values disagree, so neither is published; verify via the company checker. |
| Newton Abbot | South West Water | — | Soft to moderately soft * | Low * | Company statement - band only Band inferred from the company regional profile; no published zone value sourced yet. |
| Plymouth | South West Water | 35 | Soft | Low | Single source - unverified (MyTapWater) |
| Poole | Bournemouth Water | 295.4 | Hard | High | Single source - unverified (WaterGrade) WaterGrade "Poole Town" zone; the zone naming is Wessex-styled, so company attribution is murky - flagged for verification. |
| Salisbury | Wessex Water | 292.3 | Hard | High | Single source - unverified (WaterGrade) |
| Swindon | Wessex Water | 270-287 | Hard | High | Two agreeing sources - unverified (MyTapWater + WaterGrade) Two independent aggregators agree; still to be spot-checked against the company checker. |
| Taunton | Wessex Water | — | Moderately hard to very hard * | — | Company statement - band only Band inferred from the company regional profile; no published zone value sourced yet. |
| Torquay | South West Water | — | Soft to moderately soft * | Low * | Company statement - band only Band inferred from the company regional profile; no published zone value sourced yet. |
| Trowbridge | Wessex Water | 276.8 | Hard | High | Single source - unverified (WaterGrade) |
| Truro | South West Water | — | Soft to moderately soft * | Low * | Company statement - band only Band inferred from the company regional profile; no published zone value sourced yet. |
| Weston-super-Mare | Wessex Water | — | Moderately hard to very hard * | — | Company statement - band only Band inferred from the company regional profile; no published zone value sourced yet. |
| Weymouth | Wessex Water | 284.5 | Hard | High | Single source - unverified (WaterGrade) |
| Yeovil | Wessex Water | 172.4 | Moderately hard | Moderate | Single source - unverified (WaterGrade) |
* 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.
What councils in the South West England ask of landlords
The national legionella duty is the same everywhere; what varies locally is property licensing and whether legionella is written into licence conditions. These verified councils fall in the South West England:
| Council | Nation | Scheme | In force | Legionella in licensing? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bristol City Council Additional HMO licensing citywide; selective licensing in Bishopston & Ashley Down, Cotham and Easton wards (both 5 years) HMO licence condition 3.3 "Asbestos and Legionella": "Comply with current statutory requirements relating to the safe management of … Legionella species risks" (references HSE legionella guidance). Applies to mandatory and additional HMO licences. Source document | England | Additional HMO licensing + Selective licensing | 6 Aug 2024 onwards | Explicit licence condition |
| Bath & North East Somerset Council HMO licensing inspection regime HMO inspection checklist includes: "Has the legionella risk assessment been reviewed, and all control measures implemented?" Source document | England | No licensing scheme | n/a | Guidance / standards only |