DWI Code for Enforcement

Foreword by the Chief Inspector

The quality of drinking water in England and Wales is, we believe, amongst the highest in the world. It is part of the Inspectorate's role in enforcing the Water Quality Regulations to make sure that quality is maintained and where necessary improved.

The Code for Enforcement sets out the levels of service that water companies and members of the public can expect to receive from the Inspectorate. This is the fourth edition of our Code. It has been revised to take account of changes to the Inspectorate's way of working and to reflect the principles of good enforcement set out in the "Enforcement Concordat" issued by the Better Regulation Unit in the Cabinet Office. In this edition, our Code has been restructured in line with the main headings in the "Enforcement Concordat". We will review our Code from time to time.

Our role is not limited to enforcing the Regulations. We have a role in encouraging good practice in providing water supplies. We are always prepared to discuss with water companies, or their association - Water UK, matters of concern about the Regulations or general issues of water quality. We answer consumers' queries about drinking water and investigate their complaints. We also investigate incidents which affect, or could affect, drinking water quality. When appropriate we initiate prosecutions of water companies.

We will continue to monitor our performance against the standards set in this leaflet by seeking views from companies and consumers. Comments from people and companies that have dealings with us are welcome as valuable feedback on how well we are meeting the targets we have set ourselves. We will continue to publish details of our performance against these standards in our Annual Reports.

Copies of this leaflet can be obtained, free of charge, from the Inspectorate. It is also on the DWI website. Our addresses and telephone number are shown below.

Michael Rouse

Chief Inspector
October 2000

Role of the Inspectorate

The Drinking Water Inspectorate's main task is to check that water companies in England and Wales supply water that is wholesome and complies with the statutory requirements of the Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations.

The Inspectorate carries out this function by technical audits of water companies.

Technical audits consist of three parts:

• an annual assessment, based on information provided by companies, of the quality of water supplied, compliance with sampling and other statutory requirements, and the progress made on improvement programmes;
• inspection of individual companies, covering not only a general check on the matters above but also checks that the sampling and analysis carried out by the companies is accurate and that it provides a reliable measure of drinking water quality; and
• interim checks made on particular aspects of compliance with the Regulations based on information provided periodically by the companies.

If companies are found to be in breach of the statutory requirements and the breach is not trivial the Inspectorate notifies the company that enforcement action is under consideration. In most cases the notification can be withdrawn if the company provides satisfactory evidence that effective remedial action to prevent a recurrence has been taken. In other cases legally binding undertakings to carry out appropriate improvements by a specified date are accepted from the company. If no undertaking is offered, or the terms of an undertaking are not satisfactory, a notice of the intention to make an enforcement order is served on the company. An enforcement order specifies the steps the company has to take to comply and the dates by which they must be taken.

Another major task of the Inspectorate is to investigate all incidents affecting or threatening to affect drinking water quality and to determine whether the company took the action necessary to protect consumers, return supplies to normal and prevent a recurrence and whether there was a breach of a standard and, if so, to consider enforcement action.

As part of our investigation of incidents we routinely consider whether water unfit for human consumption was supplied. Section 70 of the Water Industry Act 1991 makes it a criminal offence for a water company to supply water, which is unfit for human consumption. The Inspectorate can bring prosecutions in the names of either the Secretary of State for Environment, Transport and Regions or the National Assembly for Wales (referred to in this leaflet collectively as “the Authorities”). The Inspectorate will bring prosecutions if it believes that it has evidence that water unfit for human consumption was supplied, if it believes that the company does not have a defence that it took all reasonable steps and exercised all due diligence and if such a prosecution is regarded as being in the public interest. Similarly, we investigate breaches of the treatment standard and monitoring requirements for Cryptosporidium as such breaches are also criminal offences under amending regulations made in 1999.

The Inspectorate investigates complaints from consumers about their drinking water and answers enquiries from the public and organisations about drinking water. The Inspectorate also publishes free leaflets on its role and drinking water quality. These leaflets are available free of charge from the Inspectorate and are on the Internet.

The Inspectorate also sponsors the Committee that advises the Authorities on the statutory approval of chemicals used in water treatment and materials which come into contact with drinking water. Allied to this scheme, the Inspectorate would if necessary initiate on behalf of the Authorities a prosecution of any water company that used unapproved products, substances or processes, or used them in breach of the conditions of use.

Apart from its regulatory functions, the Inspectorate also offers advice and guidance to water companies on all aspects of the statutory requirements it has to enforce. The Inspectorate also makes recommendations to water companies on matters which, while not themselves the immediate subject of regulation, could affect the ability of companies to comply with regulatory requirements, for example good practice. The Inspectorate will distinguish between enforceable requirements and other recommended improvements in reports and correspondence with water companies.

Service Standard

The Inspectorate aims to establish clear standards setting out the level of service and performance the public and business people can expect to receive.

Technical Audit of Water Companies

The Inspectorate does not charge for the technical audit of water companies. The Inspectorate will advise water companies in writing of its information requirements and water companies will be consulted before any significant changes to its requirements are made. The inspection process will be a continuous one and inspection visits to water companies will be made at any time throughout the year. Generally, the Inspectorate will discuss and agree with individual water companies the detailed timetable and programme for each visit. However, on occasions the Inspectorate may decide that it is necessary to make unannounced visits.

The Inspectorate will advise water companies if and when any inspection visit is to be made by consultants appointed as temporary technical assessors by the Inspectorate rather than by a member of its own permanent staff.

Immediately after an inspection visit is concluded, the Inspector's preliminary findings will be outlined to one or more appropriate members of the water company's staff.

Normally, a draft report on each inspection visit will be left with the company at the end of the visit for comment on matters of fact. If the Inspector requested any additional associated information during or after the visit, this will need to be included with the comments and sent to the Inspectorate within four weeks. If it is not possible to leave a draft report with the company, it will be sent to the company within four weeks of the visit for comment within four weeks. The final report will be sent to the company within four weeks of the Inspectorate receiving the company's comments on the draft report and any additional information, or within eight weeks of leaving or sending the draft report, whichever is the sooner.

Any matters arising from a water company's monthly reports on non-compliance with water quality standards and monitoring requirements, including consideration of enforcement action, will be raised with the company within four weeks of the receipt of the report. A preliminary assessment of a company's annual compliance data return will be issued within four weeks of notification by the company that the data set is complete. Any necessary notification of the Inspectorate's intention to take enforcement action will be issued within four weeks of receipt from the company of its response to the preliminary assessment or within eight weeks of issuing the preliminary assessment, whichever is the shorter.

Undertakings

If a water company is in breach of any enforceable statutory requirement the Inspectorate will allow a reasonable opportunity, normally four weeks from the date of its notice of intention to enforce, for companies to submit and discuss draft undertakings before proceeding with the making of an enforcement order. If a company offers a suitable, legally binding undertaking to take steps to remedy the breach in a suitably short specific time, the Inspectorate will, if the draft undertaking contains all the information needed, decide on the Authorities’ behalf whether or not to accept it and notify the company within four weeks.

Relaxations

Where a water company is seeking a relaxation of the drinking water quality standards because of the nature and structure of the ground in the area from which a supply emanates or because of extreme meteorological conditions or that the supply is or is to be used solely for food production purposes or as an emergency measure to maintain a water supply, the Inspectorate will decide on the Authorities’ behalf whether or not to grant the relaxation within four weeks of the receipt of all necessary information. In an emergency, the Inspectorate will respond as quickly as possible.

Drinking Water Quality Incidents

The Inspectorate will aim to inform water companies of the outcome of its investigations of incidents, including details of any enforcement action that may be taken, within three months of the receipt by the Inspectorate of final reports from the company. There will be occasions when meeting this target will not be possible because further information will be required or further investigations may be needed.

If there is a case for a prosecution the timetable will be partly influenced by the Court but our aim will be to complete the process within 12 months of the receipt by the Inspectorate of final reports from the company.

Openness

The Inspectorate openly provides information on all issues including the standards that have been set, how it goes about performing its core activities and the compliance results obtained throughout the year.

Provision of Information and Advice

Each year the Chief Inspector publishes a report on the Inspectorate's activities and the quality of drinking water in England and Wales. The first report for Wales alone was published this year. The Chief Inspector will continue to produce both a report on Drinking Water in England and Wales and a bi-lingual report on Drinking Water in Wales each year.

The Inspectorate has developed a system of sending Information Letters to water companies on matters of interest to all water companies. These letters may also include requests for information from water companies and when appropriate, the Inspectorate consults the companies' association, Water UK on the contents of such letters. These practices will continue. Copies of current relevant Information Letters can be found on our Internet Web Site. The address is http://www.dwi.gov.uk/regs/infolett/index.htm.

If the investigation of an incident affecting drinking water quality shows that there are lessons to be learnt that are generally applicable, the Inspectorate will issue recommendations to all water companies and follow up on inspection visits.

Water companies frequently approach the Inspectorate for advice on a wide range of matters concerning the supply of drinking water and advice is freely given. There are no plans to charge for such advice.

The Inspectorate also makes suggestions to companies for improvements in their procedures and practices.

Prior to the establishment of the Inspectorate, the Department of the Environment, and the Welsh Office, as they then were published a booklet entitled "Guidance on Safeguarding the Quality of Public Water Supplies". The Inspectorate uses this as a reference document. It is kept under review and is up-dated as necessary through Information Letters.

The Inspectorate receives enquiries from individual members of the public and organisations about a range of issues relating to drinking water quality and treatment. Replies to those enquiries are treated according to the principals of Service First - the new charter programme and the requirements of the Environmental Information Regulations 1992. We will also implement the requirements of the Government's proposed legislation on Freedom of Information. Our approach is to be as open as possible in reporting on drinking water quality and responding to enquires about it and our activities. Openness is built into the framework governing drinking water quality, for example water companies must keep registers of the results of their monitoring and those registers must be open for inspection by the public.

Consumer Market Research

It is vital for the Inspectorate to consult the public on their general perceptions of tap water in order to understand their information requirements and gain an appreciation of the level of their knowledge on the facts relating to drinking water quality. Thus, approximately every three years, the Inspectorate conducts qualitative and quantitative research broadly based on perceptions of tap water, the public’s information requirements, and awareness of the Inspectorate and its activities. The conclusions allow the Inspectorate to be more sensitive to the public’s information needs and to guide our activities that are in direct contact with the public.

A summary of the results of the latest market research conducted in March 2000, is available on the DWI website.

Helpfulness

The Inspectorate works with businesses to advise and assist with compliance with standards and associated matters. In general, the Inspectorate aims to provide efficient and prompt service whenever assistance is sought.

Consultation and Communication

The Inspectorate will, subject to the availability of staff, make every effort to meet any company to discuss matters relating to compliance data, undertakings, relaxations or even the need or desire for advice.

It is the aim of the Inspectorate to draw immediate attention to areas of concern as they arise during inspections of water companies rather than waiting until the inspection is completed. Where a company is offering an undertaking to carry out remedial work, the Inspectorate will advise companies on the form and content of undertakings and similarly advise the companies on the conditions attached to relaxations.

On issues affecting all water companies, the Inspectorate's normal approach will be consultation through Water UK.

Enquiries

It is the Inspectorate's aim to respond to all enquiries, irrespective of their origin, within three weeks.

From 1 September 2000, the Inspectorate will be utilising a tailor made enquiry tracking system, which will be used to check whether we are meeting the target and to obtain feedback from enquirers on the quality of our responses.

Complaints by Consumers about drinking water quality

The Inspectorate receives complaints from consumers about the quality of their drinking water. Some are referred to the Inspectorate by local WaterVoice offices with whom we work closely. If there seems to be an immediate risk to health, we will treat it as an emergency. However, in such cases the water company should have taken action immediately.

If it is not an emergency, our aim is to give complainants an answer within three weeks. If we cannot do that we will keep them informed about what is happening. In some cases, where there is no likelihood of any health implication, complainants may be referred back to the Water Company for resolution. In other cases a report is called for from the water company and the views of the local environmental health officer are sought.

Complaints about the Inspectorate

Complaints about the actions of members of the Inspectorate should be made to the Chief Inspector - our address is shown at the bottom of this document. In the first instance all complaints will be investigated by the Chief Inspector or the Deputy Chief Inspector. A response to the complaint will be made within twenty working days of the date it is received in the Inspectorate. The response will include details of what action has been taken. If it is not possible to make a response within 20 working days because of the need for further information or investigation an interim response will be made.

If the complainant is not satisfied, the matter will be reviewed by the Director of the Water and Land Directorate in the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions who will, if the matter is scientific or technical, appoint an independent specialist to advise them, if necessary.

If the complaint concerns the Inspectorate's actions in Wales, the second stage review would be carried out by the Head of the Environment Division of the National Assembly for Wales, with appropriate specialist advice as necessary.

Should there be any complaints the Inspectorate would wish to review the operation of the procedures with those concerned.

Proportionality

The Inspectorate considers proportionality in conducting its business and for example, does not require action when non-compliance is trivial.

Value for money

We aim to carry out our duties in an efficient way without incurring any unnecessary costs to the companies. The Inspectorate's priority is always to protect public health and it will take enforcement action whenever this is necessary. However, section 19 of the Water Industry Act 1991 provides that enforcement action need not be taken in cases of trivial contraventions of the Regulations. The Inspectorate will use this provision where appropriate.

The Regulations governing drinking water quality have to be applied equally to all water companies - large or small - to ensure that all consumers receive a supply of water that is wholesome. That said, fewer samples are required to be taken from those supplies that serve smaller numbers of consumers, a provision likely to benefit the smaller companies. The Regulations also provide for reduced monitoring if companies can demonstrate that concentrations of substances are consistently well below the permitted limits.

The Inspectorate has also reached an agreement with the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) to set standards for laboratories analysing water for compliance with the Regulations. A laboratory accredited for drinking water analysis will be subject to regular reassessment by UKAS and will not necessarily be subject to further regular inspection by the Drinking Water Inspectorate.

Consistency

The Inspectorate aims to carry out all duties in a fair, equitable and consistent manner. Each individual case warrants careful judgement, and arrangements are in place for consistent and effective liaison with other relevant organisations, and the public.

Relations with Water Companies and the public

The Inspectorate has teams of Inspectors whose primary role is the investigation of incidents and complaints from the public, and teams of Inspectors whose primary role is technical audit and enforcement. The general responsibility for a specific water company is assigned to one member within each team. For each water company there is also a nominated Liaison Inspector who is the initial contact for the company and who is kept informed of all Inspectorate activities relating to the company. Water companies also have details of emergency contact numbers.

All Inspectors have been appointed technical assessors under the Water Industry Act 1991 and they carry identity documents and are required to produce them without being asked, for example if accompanying a water company sampler onto private property.

When considering a prosecution of a water company, the Inspectorate needs to collect evidence from consumers. This depends on the type of incident we are investigating.

Water which had an unacceptable odour, taste or appearance

When we are investigating this sort of incident, we write to people who complained to either the water company or local WaterVoice office and ask them:

• to complete a simple questionnaire about the quality of their drinking water at the time of the incident and whether or not they continued to use it;
• if they would be willing to see one of our Inspectors to answer further questions;
• if they would make a statement.

Water which may have caused an outbreak of illness

If illness is involved, we ask the Health Authority to contact those diagnosed as suffering from a complaint linked to drinking water and ask if they will agree to their names being given to us. If people agree to their names being given to us we then contact them. We ask:

• if they are willing to see an Inspector and if so;
• an Inspector will arrange to visit them to ask a few questions about their consumption of water and how and when they were affected by the illness;
• we may ask consumers if they would be willing to make a statement.

Inspectors would not visit a consumer without having first arranged an appointment and will produce their identity document when calling on consumers.

We aim to provide a courteous and efficient service. All letters from the Inspectorate show the individual's full address, telephone and fax numbers together with the Inspectorate's enquiry number.

Our office is open from 9 am to 5 pm each weekday. There is voice mail for after hours callers and the Inspectorate's fax machine is operational 24 hours a day all year round.