Thousands of residents in Greater Manchester have been told to boil their tap water until further notice after untreated water was allowed to enter the pipe network.

Water provider United Utilities issued a statement on Sunday morning telling people in 17,000 properties in Tameside, Saddleworth and Greenfield to boil water for drinking, food preparation and brushing teeth.

A spokesperson for the firm said that an overnight technical fault at a treatment works in Buckton Castle had been fixed, but that some water, “not treated to the usual high standards”, had entered the local pipe network.

“You can continue to use tap water for general domestic purposes such as bathing and flushing toilets,” the statement read. “If your water looks dirty or cloudy, we would recommend to wait until the water has cleared before washing clothes.”

The company apologised to its customers and said it hoped to lift the precautionary advice as soon as possible.

“We are proactively contacting vulnerable customers in the area to make sure they have adequate support and we would also ask all customers to tell friends, family and neighbours who they know live in these areas and could be affected,” read the statement from the firm, which is the UK’s largest listed water company.

“Customers will receive compensation automatically and this will be paid proactively in the next five working days, so there is no need to contact us about that.”

In August 2015, United Utilities – which manages the regulated water and waste water network in the north-west – issued a similar warning to 300,000 households in Lancashire to boil their water after routine tests found traces of the microbial parasite cryptosporidium at a treatment works outside Preston.

There is no specific treatment for cryptosporidium, but it can cause diarrhoea and abdominal cramps, with symptoms lasting for up to two weeks.

The Drinking Water Inspectorate is investigating the source of the contamination. Last month, Prof John Ashton, former director of public health for north-west England, called for a parliamentary inquiry into why the body had not yet reported its findings.