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wate r | = looks afterZ i? The role of the Drinkin g Water Inspectorate in En wae and Wales : I Mii ‘ nny” == = S2=2= Department of the Environment Welsh Office Drinking water in England and Wales is amongst the cleanest and safest in the world. The Government’s Drinking Water Inspectorate is there to make sure that it stays that way and gets better. It has responsibility for checking that water supplied by the water companies is wholesome and fit to drink when it reaches your home. what does the inspectorate do? who supplies The Inspectorate was set up in January 1990. Its professional staff have a wide range of drinking water? experience and expert knowledge in chemistry, The water companies in England and Wales microbiology and engineering aspects of water supply approximately 16,600 million litres of supply. On health matters it gets advice from drinking water a day to about 50 million the Government’s Chief Medical Officers. The people - about 99% of the population. Inspectorate’s main task is to check that water companies supply water that is safe to drink ; and meets the stringent standards set in the IM Water Supply (Water Quality) — ||| | 22| 50| |vle l587 0 where does it the companies are meeting all the require- come from? ments of the Regulations. Environmental health officers of local councils The water companies get their water from also get information regularly from the lowland rivers, from reservoirs, lakes and companies which supply drinking water in streams in the hills and from boreholes. their areas. They can also take their own Before water is supplied it is treated, often samples and have them tested. Ifa council is by being filtered to remove impurities, and not satisfied that the water is of a satisfactory disinfected. Drinking water is distributed quality, it has to tell the company. If the partly by gravity and partly by pumping local authority is not satisfied with the through the mains and_ holding tanks - company’s response, it must tell the Inspector- called service reservoirs or water towers. ate, who will consider whether any action is There are just over 1,800 water treatment necessary. works, about 4,900 service reservoirs and some 307,000 km of water mains. si: e NEoSN L Tsn RL i ons ae how is quality what is the ensured? inspector's role? | The Water Quality Regulations set stringent Every year, Inspectors carry out a technical legal standards for drinking water. These audit of each company. This has two main i incorporate, and in some respects go further than, the standards in the EC Drinking parts: Water Directive. The Regulations also require ® an assessment of the quality of drinking \ the water companies to take samples and test water supplied by the companies, and . them to make sure that the water meets the @ an inspection of the individual companies. standards. About 3.3 million such tests are The assessment of water quality is based on made each year. information received regularly from the water The Drinking Water Inspectorate checks that companies. This information contains the results of the millions of tests made each year @ is the right type of water treatment being to see if the water meets the 57 standards set used for the quality of the water taken from its in the Regulations. The inspection of the source; is all water disinfected so it contains companies ensures that the information they no harmful bacteria when it goes into the are supplying is reliable and complete. mains and are approved products and processes bein g used? what happens in @ are the arrangements satisfactory for an inspection? handling the very large amount of data that the companies hold and is it put promptly onto Inspectors check to see that the right proce- the public registers that all water companies dures and policies exist and that they are must keep? being followed at all levels in a company. @ will the completion dates be met for schemes Inspectors also look at records, check opera- to improve water quality, to which companies tional manuals, visit laboratories and water are committed? Be treatment works, and question company officials. what about After the inspection is accidents? complete, the Chief Inspector considers whether the Water companies must have satisfactory situation is satisfactory in all equipment and procedures to deal with respects and, if not, whether TITER IAS accidents, and ensure that accidents do not oro the company should be cause any health risk for their consumers. 3 required to take remedial The Inspectorate checks that this is the case. fo LOG! & action. If there is any risk of infection, the company will advise consumers to boil the water before — wihat does uSe. ~ | the inspector The Inspectorate investigates every accident - | check? which affects, or might have affected, drinking water quality. In an inspection five main Ifa company supplies water which is unfit to areas are checked: drink, it could be prosecuted. : @ are the right numbers of If consumers suffer loss or damage as a result Ho samples being taken from of a company supplying water which does not ec im the right places and are the meet the required standards, they have a right Lod people taking the samples of redress under the Consumer Protection Act properly trained? if the loss or damage amounts to more than @ are the people analysing £275. In addition, water companies have a samples properly trained duty of care under common law and consumers and qualified, and is the can claim compensation if a loss occurs, or laboratory properly damage is caused, through a company’s managed? negligence. what about bacteria in drinking water? Water companies disinfect drinking water to how good is the remove harmful bacteria. Not all bacteria are drinking water in harmful but if certain harmless bacteria are England and detected, it means either that disinfection has not been effective or the water has become Wales? contaminated subsequently, quite often by dirt Drinking water is generally of d high on the consumer’s tap. Where exceptionally quality. The standards were met in 99% of bacteria are detected in the company’s system the 3.3 million tests carried out by water it can respond by increasing the level of companies in 1990. disinfection or by advising consumers tempo- rarily to boil water before use. If a particular sample of water does not meet all the standards, this does not necessarily what about lead in mean it is unfit to drink. Some standards drinking water? relate to the appearance of water, rather than health. Where a standard has been set for The standard in the Regulationfso r lead in health reasons, this is normally on the basis drinking water applies to water at the time of of lifetime exposure, and there is a wide supply, and is generally met. However the margin of safety. samples taken by water companies are from Water companies have given legally binding consumers’ taps and can therefore also contain undertakings to the Secretary of State that lead taken up from any lead pipes the they will remedy the situations in which there consumer may have. are breaches of standards at the moment, Where there is a problem for a significant most often by installing additional treatment proportion of consumers in a particular area plant. In most cases the deadline is 1995 or and treatment by the water company can earlier, and over that period companies are reduce the amount of lead taken up from committed to spending £1.8 billion on this. consumers’ pipes, the companies are being The Inspectorate checks progress, and also required to install such treatment. Apart from reviews company programmes to ensure that that, reduction of lead levels at the consumer's they continue to represent the fastest practica- tap may require the replacement of the ble remedial action. If a breach is detected consumer’s own plumbing, which is his or her which is not covered by existing undertakings, Apes ree wae od ses rveer en oe responsibili ty. etma f.x. crc? the Inspectorate considers whether the 6 tk é company ought to be required to carry out i i 4 additional remedial action. { é | eeee esesseont! what about what about nitrate aluminium in in drinking water? drinking water? The standard for nitrate is sometimes exceeded Aluminium is widely present in the soil and in some areas. Treatment plant is being therefore in some sources of drinking water. installed to eliminate these breaches by 1995. Some water companies also use aluminium If there were any evidence of a health hazard compounds to remove impurities at their meanwhile, immediate action would be taken treatment works, and some may stay in the to provide an alternative supply to vulnerable water supplied. The legal standard for groups. aluminium has been set to prevent water looking cloudy. Companies are committed to where can Ii get programmes to achieve this standard, information about irrespective of the source of the aluminium. my drinking water? The amount of aluminium received from drinking water is less than the average intake The water companies are required by law to from food. The total intake from food and keep registers with information about water water would still be well within the World quality and the results of the tests they carry Health Organisation S guidelines. out. The registers are open to the public and the companies must tell consumers once a year with their water bill where they can see the what about registers. Information from the registers 1s also pesticides in supplied on request. drinking water? what if there is a The legal standard is that there should be no, problem with my or virtually no, pesticides in drinking water. In some areas very small traces of pesticides supply? have been detected in drinking water but Ify ou have any problems with the quality of medical advice is that the amounts swallowed your drinking water, first of all tell your from drinking water in every case were far local water company. Ify ou are not satisfied smaller than the amounts which are known to with their answer, get in touch with the be harmful or are likely to cause harm. environmental health officer ofy our local In addition to steps being taken to prevent council and_ ask for an investigation, or you pesticides getting into water sources, compa- could contact the local Customer Service nies are installing treatment plant to remove Committee of the Office of Water Services. pesticides. In most cases this will be in operation by 1995 or earlier but some will If you are still not satisfied, contact the take a little longer. Drinking Water Inspectorate at: Drinking Water Inspectorate, Room B155, Romney: House, 43 Marsham Street, London SW1P 3PY. Telephone 071-276-8508 Produced by The Department of the Environment Printed in Great Britain on recycled paper 92 EP 0121