Businesses affected by a water alert in Glasgow expect compensation for loss of earnings, a meeting has heard.

Water commissioner Alan Sutherland is seeking the views of those affected last month when more than 150,000 people were forced to boil their drinking water.

He was asked to investigate the handling of the cryptosporidium parasite outbreak, which affected supplies to parts of Glasgow and Clydebank.

Ross Finnie ordered the review

The first of two public meetings attracted a low turnout at Strathclyde University in Glasgow on Tuesday evening.

Mr Sutherland was told that hundreds of Glasgow businesses were affected by the incident.

The deputy chief executive of Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, Douglas Miller said businesses lost a lot of money - and would be looking for compensation.

The meeting also heard how some people did not find out about the problem until they read about it in a newspaper.

Many people complained at the lack of information given to them by Scottish Water.

A second meeting is due to take place in Clydebank on Thursday.

These meetings will allow me to hear at first hand the views of those affected

Alan Sutherland Water commissioner

Mr Sutherland will report his findings to Environment Minister Ross Finnie, who ordered the investigation.

More than 150,000 people were advised to boil their supplies because of higher than normal levels of the parasite cryptosporidium in supplies from Mugdock Reservoir in Milngavie, East Dunbartonshire.

Scottish Water advised the customers to boil water used for consumption.

The new unitary authority defended itself against allegations of a 24-hour delay in telling the public about the discovery of the parasite in supplies.

Mr Sutherland said: "These meetings will allow me to hear at first hand the views of those affected.

"This will be important in helping me to identify the lessons that need to be learned from this recent incident."

Public health

Mr Finnie agreed that the failure to initially alert people in Clydebank had been "a very serious error" by Scottish Water.

But the company said its staff had acted "with the utmost caution" not to alarm people living in affected areas of Glasgow.

At the height of the outbreak, Scottish Water's chief executive, Jon Hargreaves, said that although he could understand the frustrations felt by customers, public health was the top priority.

Plans for a new treatment plant at the Mugdock reservoir were last week thrown out by the local authority.

Councillors in East Dunbartonshire rejected proposals for a controversial new �100m development, arguing that Mugdock was the wrong area to site it.