Press Notice 0011:
11 January 2000Drinking Water Inspectorate: water guardian marks first ten years
A decade of steadily improving drinking water quality was marked today by Drinking Water Chief Inspector Michael Rouse.
Launching a week of drinking water related events, Michael Rouse was accompanying local school children and Welsh Assembly Secretary for the Environment, Peter Law, to a Newport water treatment works to see water technology at work.
Michael Rouse said:
"In England and Wales Water Companies operate under some of the toughest quality regulations in the world.The Drinking Water Inspectorate has worked hard over the last ten years to achieve high quality through these regulation driven improvement programmes.
When turning their taps on, people can rest assured that the DWI is looking after their best interests, and will continue to do so in the new millennium."
In his tenth anniversary statement, Mr. Rouse highlighted the following:
- DWI seeks to ensure that water companies supply their customers with wholesome water at all times;
- In 1998, drinking water quality was the best yet, with 99.78% of 2.8m tests carried out by water companies meeting the tight standards;
Year 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 % Tests Passing Standards 99.00 98.70 98.70 98.90 99.30 99.50 99.70 99.75 99.78 - DWI has played a vital role in virtually eliminating pesticides from our drinking water;
- An open system enables people to have free access to all drinking water test results on Water Company Public Registers. Through its web site http:\\www.dwi.dtlr.gov.uk/ and publications, the DWI seeks to inform people of results and recent developments regarding drinking water quality;
- DWI initiates enforcement action when there is a breach of standards. More than 2800 enforcement actions have been taken over the last ten years. As a result, quality has improved continuously from 1992 to 1998;
- DWI addresses unsatisfactory action taken by a water company to follow up a consumer complaint about the standard of water quality;
- DWI initiates prosecution proceedings when the water supplied is deemed unfit for consumption, the cause is the company's fault and prosecution is in the public interest. 24 successful prosecutions have been completed to date;
- DWI is vigilant to the possibility of new problems, with research programmes being initiated in areas of potential concern;
- DWI was instrumental in drawing up the new Cryptosporidium regulations to reduce further any risks to public health;
- In the next decade DWI will continue to ensure that water companies meet their obligations to fully implement further drinking water quality improvement programmes. There is still much to do especially on distribution systems to meet consumer's expectations.
Notes to editors
1. For information about the events taking place in your region contact your regional branch of Central Office of Information.
2. Photographs of Drinking Water Inspectors at work are available electronically from DETR Press Office.
3. The Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) began work on 2 January 1990. Its main role is to check that water companies in England and Wales supply wholesome water and comply with the standards and other requirements of the Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations1989 and amendments.
4. In 1998, 99.99% of the 652,000 tests carried out for pesticides met the standard.
5. This year £900,000 has been spent on water distribution, conservation and quality research. Over the last ten years approximately £7 million has been spent on research of the same nature. Research reports are available publicly.
6. New Cryptosporidium regulations require water companies to continuously sample and analyse daily for Cryptosporidium at water treatment works judged to be at risk. It is an offence to exceed a treatment standard for Cryptosporidium.
7. Most water quality standards are derived from an obligatory European Community Directive, but some UK standards are more stringent. Most standards are based on World Health Organisation guidelines. The standards generally include wide safety margins. The standards cover bacteria, chemicals such as nitrate and pesticides, metals such as lead, and the way water looks and tastes.
8. A new European Community Directive has been agreed. It contains a few more stringent and some new standards. New regulations will be made by the end of the year 2000 to transpose the Directive and most new standards will have to be met by the end of the year 2003. The Drinking Water Inspectorate has agreed the improvements to be made by each water company to meet these standards.
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Drinking Water Inspectorate,
Floor 2/A1, Ashdown House,
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London, SW1E 6DE
Telephone : 020 7944 5956
Facsimile : 020 7944 5969
E-mail: dwi_enquiries@detr.gov.uk
Updated 11 July 2001
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