THE REGULATORY FRAMEWORK
Public Water Supplies
The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and the National Assembly for Wales, were given the necessary powers and duties in the Water Industry Act 1991("the Act") for regulating the quality of public drinking water supplies. References in this Report to "the Authorities" mean the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the National Assembly for Wales.
The Authorities have delegated drinking water quality related enforcement and prosecution powers to the Chief Inspector to act on their behalf.
Public drinking water is any water supplied for domestic purposes (i.e. drinking, washing or cooking) or food production purposes by a water company appointed under the Act as a water undertaker. Under the provisions of the Competition and Service (Utilities) Act 1992 the Director General can grant a licence to another company to take on the functions of a water undertaker for part of an area covered by a water undertaker's area. Such an inset appointment may be granted to another existing water undertaker or to a new licensee.
The Act requires a water company to supply only water which is wholesome at the time of supply, which is when water passes from the company's pipe into a consumer's pipe. Companies are not held responsible for any deterioration of drinking water quality that happens in a consumer's premises, except in respect of copper, lead or zinc. If there is a risk of the standards for these metals being exceeded after the water leaves a company's pipes, the company is required, with certain exceptions, to consider changing water treatment to reduce the extent to which they are dissolved within plumbing systems. This is a measure designed primarily to reduce the exposure of consumers to lead.
"Wholesomeness" is defined by reference to standards and other requirements set out in the Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations 1989(1)(2)(3). These include an additional "catch all" requirement that it does not contain any element, organism or substance whether alone or in combination, at a concentration or value that would be detrimental to public health. Drinking water is regarded as wholesome provided it meets these standards.
The Regulations incorporate all the standards set out in the EC "Drinking Water Directive"(4) (80/778/EEC). A new EC "Drinking Water Directive"(5) came into force on 25 December 1998. The Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations 2000 transpose to the new directive for water companies whose area of supply is wholly or mainly in England (English water companies). Similar new Regulations are planned for water companies whose area of supply is wholly or mainly in Wales (Welsh water companies). The majority of 2000 Regulations will come into force in December 2003, until when the 1989 Regulations remain in force. However the introduction of the 2000 Regulations will take place over time. Some parts of the 2000 Regulations, which are not directly related to the new Directive, came into force on 1 January 2001. The 1989 Regulations also include 11 national standards. In total, numerical standards are set for 55 parameters, of which 11 are national standards additional to the Directive requirements, and descriptive standards for a further two. The national standards are interpreted as either three or 12 monthly averages. In addition to these standards applying to water at the time of supply, a number of standards apply to water issuing from treatment works and to water held in service reservoirs within the distribution system. The Authorities may authorise the relaxation of a standard, but only in particular circumstances and not to the extent that public health could be endangered.
The 1989 Regulations also require that water receive treatment appropriate to the quality of the raw source water, and regulates the application and introduction of substances and products, and the use of processes. Contravention of the parts of the 1989 Regulations relating to the application of substances and products, and use of processes, is an offence. The Regulations in respect of water treatment have recently been further strengthened by setting a standard for the removal of Cryptosporidium oocysts, with accompanying monitoring requirements. Contravention of this new regulation is also an offence. For the English Water Companies slightly modified Cryptosporidium provisions are included in a part of the 2000 Regulations which came into force on 1 January 2001.
The Act makes it a criminal offence for a water undertaker to supply water that is unfit for human consumption. In any proceedings against a water undertaker for such an offence, the Act provides a defence for the undertaker to show that it:
- had no reasonable grounds for suspecting that the water would be used for human consumption; or
- took all reasonable steps and exercised all due diligence for securing that the water was fit for human consumption on leaving its pipes or was not used for human consumption.
Water which is unwholesome is not necessarily unfit for human consumption. Only the courts can decide whether water was unfit, but in general water is only likely to be ruled unfit if its consumption was likely to cause harm or people could not reasonably have been expected to consume it.
The Regulations make water companies responsible for monitoring the quality of water supplies. This "self-monitoring" role for water companies is subject to checks by local authorities and by the Drinking Water Inspectorate.
Results must be made publicly available on a public register and any person is entitled to a copy of information regarding his or her own water supply, free of charge. Water companies must also produce annually a report to local authorities, as well as a general public report on water quality.
Water companies are required by the Water Undertakers (Information) Direction, initially issued in 1990 and amended and reissued in 1992 and again in 1998, to notify the Authorities of any event which, by reason of its effect on the quality or sufficiency of drinking water, gives rise to, or is likely to give rise to, a significant risk to the health of persons to whom it is supplied. Notification is similarly required for events which are of national significance, may give rise to significant publicity or cause significant concern to consumers.
The Inspectorate assesses all such notified events on behalf of the Authorities, carries out investigations as necessary and makes public the outcome of its investigations.
For further information regarding the roles of Local Authorities, the Inspectorate and water companies under the regulations that govern public water supplies, the reader is referred to the DWI website and previous Annual Reports.
Enforcement of Standards
Should the Authorities be satisfied that an appointed water company is contravening, or has contravened and is likely to contravene again, a statutory requirement, they are required under section 18 of the Act to take enforcement action to secure compliance with the requirements enforceable under that section. Under section 19 of the Act, they are not required to take enforcement action if they are satisfied that the contravention is trivial, or that the company has already given an undertaking to take appropriate steps to secure or facilitate compliance with the requirements. In accepting any undertaking the Authorities give due regard to the obligations of the EC Drinking Water Directive(4).
The Act does not prescribe the nature or content of an undertaking and the European Court of Justice ruled in 1999 that without such definition undertakings were not consistent with the obligations of the EC Drinking Water Directive. To remedy this the Drinking Water (Undertakings)(England and Wales) Regulations 2000(6) have been made. In practice undertakings were always tightly controlled and administered in the spirit of the Directive but these Regulations bring previous good practice into law.
The Authorities are able to take enforcement action under section 18 for contraventions of the following:
- wholesomeness requirement
- monitoring and treatment requirements of the Regulations
- records and information requirements
The Authorities may institute prosecution proceedings under section 70 of the Act for the offence of supplying water unfit for human consumption, under regulation 28 for the offence of applying or introducing any substance or product in contravention of the requirements of regulation 25 or using a process in contravention of regulation 26, or for failure to treat water in accordance with the requirements of regulation 23B (from 1 January 2001, regulation 24 of the 2000 Regulations for the English water companies).
For further information on the enforcement action circumstances and the procedures taken by the Inspectorate on behalf of the Authorities, please refer to the Regulatory Framework section of the Annual Report 1998.
Private Water Supplies
Private supplies are defined in the Act as any supplies of water that are not provided by a statutorily appointed water undertaker. The Act places responsibility on local authorities to keep themselves informed about the wholesomeness and sufficiency of water supplies in their respective areas, including private water supplies.
Under the Act, local authorities are given powers to secure the improvement of private water supplies or connection to a mains supply. They are able to serve a notice on the owner and occupier of the premises receiving water from a private supply and the owner and occupier of the land where the source is situated which, in relation to that source, specifies the improvement steps to be taken, who is responsible, and the timescale. The person on whom the notice is served may object to the local authority. The notice must then be submitted to the Authorities for confirmation with or without modification. In certain circumstances, the Authorities may order a public local inquiry or hearing.
The Inspectorate is responsible under the Act for providing technical and scientific advice to the Authorities for the purposes of their functions in relation to private water supplies. This includes advice, where appropriate, on improvement notices served by local authorities which are referred to the Authorities. The Inspectorate is also responsible for checking or arranging to check that local authorities in England and Wales are complying with their duties under the Regulations.
The definition of wholesomeness in the Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations 1989(1), as amended, applies equally to public and private supplies and is incorporated in the Private Water Supplies Regulations 1991(7). New Regulations on Private Water Supplies will be required to transpose the new EC Directive.
For further details of the role of local authorities and that of the Drinking Water Inspectorate under the above regulations, see the Regulatory Framework section of the Annual Report 1998.
Further information about the laws controlling private water supplies can be found in The Water Industry Act 1991 (sections 67, 77-85, 93 and schedule 6 paragraphs 6 and 7), The Private Water Supplies Regulations 1991(7), Department of the Environment Circular 24/91 (Welsh Office Circular 68/91) and a free Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions and National Assembly for Wales leaflet "Private Water Supplies - A guide to the Laws controlling Private Water Supplies".
References
1. Statutory Instruments 1989 No. 1147.
2. Statutory Instruments 1989 No. 1384.
3. Statutory Instruments 1991 No. 1837.
4. Council Directive 80/778/EEC of 15 July 1980 relating to the quality of water intended for human consumption OJ No. L229, 30.8.80, p11.
5. Council Directive 98/83/EC of 3 November 1998 on the quality of water intended for human consumption, OJ No. L330, 41, 5 December 1998, p32.
6. Statutory Instruments 2000 No 1297.
7. Statutory Instruments 1991 No. 2790.
[ Previous ] [ Contents ] [ Next ]
| A - Z Index | Business and Technical | Consumer Information | Contacting us |
| DWI Home Page | News | Product Approval | Search our site | Wales |
Drinking Water Inspectorate,
Floor 2/A1, Ashdown House, 123 Victoria Street, London, SW1E 6DE
Telephone : 020 7944 5956 - Facsimile : 020 7944 5969
E-mail: dwi_enquiries@detr.gov.uk
Published 11 July 2001
Return to Publications and Reports Index
Return to Drinking Water Inspectorate Home Page
Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA)Home Page
The National Assembly for Wales / Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru Home Page
Web site terms
© Crown copyright 2001