South West Water (SWW) is hosting a public meeting next month in response to criticism of CEO Susan Davy’s conduct during the recent cryptosporidium outbreak and the firm’s response to the crisis.

The meeting, being held on September 12 in Brixham, will include a panel from SWW and the recently elected MP for South Devon, Caroline Voaden.

However, residents are angry that SWW has so far refused to confirm whether Ms Davy will be attending.

There is also criticism surrounding the event itself, as SWW has asked attendees to send pre-submitted questions, prompting fears that the panel will avoid answering more awkward questions about its performance during the two-month long outbreak.

Speaking to this paper, Ms Voaden said she had been given assurances that Ms Davy would be attending, adding: “It’s really important that she comes and hears for herself how angry and upset people are at the way they think they’ve been treated by SWW – the buck stops with her,” she said.

She said she had also advised Ms Davy against the vetting of questions. “It’s much more honest to ask people questions on the spot,” she said.

On SWW’s Facebook page, people posted angry comments about the meeting, with many demanding that Ms Davy attend. Sharon Thame echoed the views of many by also suggesting that the vetting procedure amounted to a “question dodging whitewash”.

SWW defended the format, telling this paper that pre-submitted questions “will be prioritised”, although the firm did not rule out taking questions from the floor “as much as time allows”.

During the cryptosporidium outbreak, about 17,000 households were told to boil their drinking water after the cryptosporidium parasite got into the supply in Kingswear, Hillhead and Higher Brixham.

More than 50 people were confirmed to have fallen ill by the UK’s Health Security Agency, although hundreds more reported symptoms at the time.

The cause of the outbreak was traced to a damaged pipe valve in a farmer’s field, which was contaminated with cattle manure.

SWW was accused of being slow to respond, while Ms Davy came in for heavy criticism for failing to make an appearance during the crisis and after parent company Pennon gave her a 58 per cent pay rise, awarding her with an £860,000 salary.

SWW said in May that it would pay out £3.5 million to customers in compensation but this week declined to say how many people had received money so far, or what the total amount would be.

“Customers have been advised on an individual basis of the compensation that applies to their property. This may vary as the final amount includes payments that have been made to customers affected for different periods of time as well as differing impacts of our operational activities across the area. Final compensation remains under review,” it said.

In the latest debacle, SWW last week warned residents in Exmouth not to swim in the sea after a sewer pipe burst, ruining many people’s holidays.