More than 100 sewage leaks — and even a legionella contamination — have been found at British government properties over the past year.
The government response to a Parliamentary question tabled by the small opposition Liberal Democratic Party revealed that there were 138 sewage leaks recorded across the 140,000 sites managed by the Government Property Agency (GP).
Of those leaks, 102 were at four Ministry of Defence sites: Culdrose, RAF Henlow, Lyneham, and Faslane — the naval base in Scotland home to the UK's submarine-based nuclear deterrent.
In addition, legionella bacteria were detected "small number of water outlets" at the Liverpool office of Her majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) during "routine sampling" — with staff forced to work from home.
Legionella causes the potentially-fatal disease legionnaire's disease, known to plague hotels.
The First Division Association (FDA), the trade union for senior civil servants, said the GPA needed to "take responsibility and control" and "guarantee the very basic right of a safe working environment for all civil servants."
"It is clearly unacceptable for civil servants to be working in unsafe and unsanitary environments, and these incidents could cause serious harm or sickness," said FDA Assistant General Secretary Amy Leversidge. "Nobody should have to work in these conditions."
The report came just a week after trafficked asylum-seekers had to be moved out of their new accommodation on the Bibby Stockholm hotel barge in Portland harbour, Dorset after legionella was found it its water supply.
"When I saw what happened to those people on the barge I was aghast. Fifteen people were marched straight off the boat — rightly," one source told a British daily newspaper. "But you’ve got over 1,000 civil servants left in the building while you flush the system."
A government spokesman said problems were bound to arise in a "large, complex property estate" with many older buildings of "historical importance."
"As is always the case with managing any large property portfolio, issues do arise with maintenance," he said. "That's why we have invested £56m in improving and maintaining buildings."