Frequently Asked Questions

What about failures to meet the standards?

We assess each failure: some are trivial or unlikely to happen again, so no further action is needed. Other failures will be put right by improvements already being carried out by water companies - these involve treatment works and distribution systems and altogether cost many hundreds of millions of pounds.

Any remaining failures will be addressed by us requiring water companies to carry out further improvements quickly.

The Inspectorate has a duty to require water companies to take any necessary action. We check that improvements are being completed on time.