Folkestone and Dover Water Services Limited
Introduction
Folkestone and Dover Water Services Limited supplies on average about 50 Ml/d of water to about 160,000 consumers in the coastal strip from Dungeness to Dover on the Kent coast. Principal population centres are Dover, Folkestone, Hythe and New Romney in the Dover and Shepway districts. The Company also supplies local industry including the Dungeness Power Station, Dover and Folkestone Harbours and the Channel Tunnel. 75% of the Company's water supplies comes from boreholes in the chalk aquifer, and over 20% comes from the Dungeness shingle headland. The remainder is derived from the Folkestone and Hythe beds in the Lower Greensand. The Company has 19 treatment works, and distributes water through 1,068 km of pipes and 13 service reservoirs to 10 water supply zones.
Overall water quality
At water treatment works and service reservoirs and in water supply zones, the Company carried out a total of 7,414 determinations in 1999. Of these, 99.9% demonstrated compliance with the relevant PCV, but five showed a contravention to have occurred.
Coliforms were not detected at any of the Company's 19 water treatment works. At all of the Company's 13 service reservoirs, coliforms were absent from at least 95% of samples. Of the Company's 10 water supply zones in 1999, all complied fully with the relevant water quality standards or had breaches of the standards which were fully covered by undertakings.
Microbiological quality of water leaving treatment works
The Company complied with the sampling frequencies required by regulation 17 at all its treatment works in 1999.
Table 9.1 shows the Company's performance in 1999, with data for 1998 and 1997 for comparison. Differences between the three years are not considered significant.
There were no contraventions of the microbiological standards at any of the Company's water treatment works in 1999.
Table 9.1 Folkestone and Dover Water Services Limited
MICROBIOLOGICAL QUALITY OF WATER LEAVING TREATMENT WORKS1999 1998 1997 Number of water treatment works 19 19 19 Works with no sampling shortfall 19 19 19 COLIFORMS Total number of determinations 1,400 1,428 1,384 - number containing coliforms 0 2 3 - % containing coliforms 0.0 0.1 0.2 Treatment works with coliforms detected 0 2 3 - % of all works 0 11 16 FAECAL COLIFORMS Total number of determinations 1,400 1,428 1,384 - number containing faecal coliforms 0 1 1 - % containing faecal coliforms 0.0 0.1 0.1 Treatment works with faecal coliforms detected 0 1 1 - % of all works 0 5 5 Microbiological quality of water in service reservoirs
The Company complied with the sampling frequencies required by regulation 18 at all of its service reservoirs in 1999.
Table 9.2 shows the Company's performance in 1999, with data for 1998 and 1997 for comparison. Differences between the three years are not considered significant.
There were no contraventions of the microbiological standards at any of the Company's service reservoirs in 1999.
Table 9.2 Folkestone and Dover Water Services Limited
MICROBIOLOGICAL QUALITY OF WATER IN SERVICE RESERVOIRS1999 1998 1997 Number of service reservoirs 13 13 13 Service reservoirs with no sampling shortfall 13 13 13 COLIFORMS Total number of determinations 675 672 681 - number containing coliforms 1 0 3 - % containing coliforms 0.1 0.0 0.4 Service reservoirs with coliforms detected 1 0 3 Service reservoirs with coliforms detected
in more than 5% of samples0 0 0 - % of all service reservoirs 0 0 0 FAECAL COLIFORMS Total number of determinations 675 672 681 - number containing faecal coliforms 0 0 0 - % containing faecal coliforms 0.0 0.0 0.0 Service reservoirs with faecal coliforms detected 0 0 0 - % of all service reservoirs 0 0 0 Water quality in water supply zones
The Company complied with the required sampling frequencies for all parameters in all zones
Table 9.3 shows the Company's performance in 1999, with data for 1998 and 1997 for comparison. Differences between the three years are not considered significant.
All contraventions of the standards in zones are considered trivial or are covered by undertakings.
Inspection
Mr M Morgan, Inspector, carried out an inspection of the Company during August 1999.
He concluded that:
- the Company had taken satisfactory action on all of the recommendations made during 1998;
- based on the samples audited, and his inspection of the public record facility, the Company's analysis and reporting arrangements were satisfactory; and
- on the basis of his inspection, the Company's operation of its Lye Oak water treatment works appeared to be generally satisfactory, but there were risks of source contamination and limitations of treatment which the Company was addressing in a positive manner.
Table 9.3 Folkestone and Dover Water Services Limited
WATER QUALITY IN SUPPLY ZONESColumns 'CBU' show, for determinations, contraventions covered by undertakings and, for zones, the total number of zones covered by undertakings in 1999. Column 'E' shows the number of zones for which new enforcement action is under consideration as a result of contraventions of the PCV in 1999. Please refer to the Introduction to Part 2 for more detailed explanation of this table. PARAMETER DETERMINATIONS in 1999 ZONES (10 in 1999)* Total Contravening PCV Non-compliant No. % CBU CBU E Number in: 1999 1999 1998 1997 Coliforms 590 3 0.5 0 0 0 0 0 0 Faecal coliforms 590 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Colour 64 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Turbidity 84 0 0.0 0 6 0 0 0 0 Odour 64 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Taste 64 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Hydrogen ion 265 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Nitrate 70 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Nitrite 64 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Aluminium 64 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Iron 84 0 0.0 0 6 0 0 1 0 Manganese 64 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Lead 16 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 PAH 64 1 1.6 0 1 0 1 2 2 Trihalomethanes 18 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total pesticides 74 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Other pesticides 239 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 All others 786 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TOTAL 3,264 4 0.1 0 - - - - - *10 zones in 1998; 10 zones in 1997.
Mr R M Walls, Consultant, working under the direction of Mr W M Waite, Principal Inspector, carried out audits of the Company's responses to the recommendations made by the Group of Experts on Cryptosporidium in Water Supplies in their Third Report (the Bouchier Report) and the incorporation of the Technical Guidance Notes on Water Supply Hygiene into the Company's procedures. Based on Mr Walls' report, Mr Waite concluded that:
Improvement programmes
- the Company had responded satisfactorily to the recommendations made in the Bouchier report; and
- the Company had procedures which incorporated the Technical Guidance Notes.
Between September and November 1999, Consultants Binnie, Black and Veatch, working under the direction of Mr W M Waite, Principal Inspector, carried out an audit of the Company's procedures for operation and management of the distribution system. Based on their report Mr Waite concluded that:
- The company had documented procedures that cover some aspects of the activities audited but these could be usefully extended to give more guidance on minimising the risk of discolouration of supplies from network activities. The company did not have any procedures which addressed of six of the 10 areas audited.
Mr M Morgan, Inspector, assessed the UKAS assessor's reports on the Company's analytical contractor's laboratories, which are accredited by UKAS as part of the DWTS scheme. Mr Morgan concluded that
- The contractor's analytical arrangements were generally satisfactory.
In October 1999, RPS Services, represented by Mr T Holmes, working under the direction of Mr P Halton, Inspector, carried out an audit of the Company's progress with the programme of mains renovation set out in the distribution system Undertaking submitted by the Company. Based on Mr Holmes's report, Mr Halton's main conclusions were that:
- the objectives of the Undertaking remained valid;
- the steps to be taken were defined with adequate precision;
- a practicable timetable had been set; and
- the Company was likely to meet the target renovation length by the date for completion of the work.
As a result of these inspections 25 recommendations were conveyed to the Company for formal response. Fifteen suggestions on various matters were also made. The Company has taken or is taking action on a number of these recommendations.
No undertakings in respect of improvement programmes accepted by the Secretary of State from the Company were due for full completion or the completion of major steps during 1999.
Incidents
No events regarded as constituting incidents in which drinking water quality demonstrably deteriorated came to the attention of the Inspectorate in 1999.
Enforcement action
No enforcement action needed to be considered for the Company as a result of the Inspectorate's work in, or pertaining to, the calendar year 1999.
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Published 12 July 2000; Updated 11 July 2001
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