Archive:
(for archive/historical purposes, this document has not been updated)Index of Contents:
- Introduction
- Bacteria
- Lead
- Iron and Manganese
- Cryptosporidium
- Drinking Water Quality Incidents
- Determinations in 1999
1. Introduction
The Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) checks that water companies supply water that is safe to drink when it reaches your home. This document summarises the results of our checks on Folkestone and Dover Water Services Limited during 1999 and should be read in conjunction with DWI's "How Good is the Drinking Water?" leaflet which is available here and also from us free of charge from the address at the end of this document.
Folkestone and Dover Water continues to supply you with drinking water of a high quality. In 1999, 99.93% of more than 7,400 tests met the standards. This is above the overall figure for England and Wales of 99.82%.
None of the failures in 1999 were likely to harm consumers' health. We assessed each one and, where necessary, we have required Folkestone and Dover Water to take action to prevent further failures.
Although the 1999 results are good, we know that there are some matters of everyday concern to consumers. These are detailed below including the steps taken by Folkestone and Dover Water to further improve its performance.
2. Bacteria
Whenever bacteria are found in water samples Folkestone and Dover Water investigates immediately. No bacteria were detected in water leaving treatment works. Low numbers of bacteria were detected on one occasion in the water leaving a service reservoir and also in three (0.5%) samples from consumers' taps. The bacteria found were not harmful to consumers' health and some of these detections could be due to the condition of the taps and not the water itself.
3. Lead
No samples failed the lead standard in 1999. The Drinking Water Inspectorate advises consumers living in properties with lead pipes to seek advice from their water company. A DWI leaflet about lead in drinking water is also available here and from us free of charge from the address at the end of this document.
4. Iron and Manganese
These two parameters provide a good indication of the overall condition of the mains used to distribute drinking water through the region.
No samples failed the standards for iron or manganese in 1999. This continues recent improvements and reflects the programme of work being carried out by Folkestone and Dover Water to renovate its distribution system. The programme of improvement is ongoing, with Folkestone and Dover Water being required to renovate more than 69km of mains by 2007.
5. Cryptosporidium
Cryptosporidium is a tiny micro-organism that can sometimes cause a form of diarrhoea called cryptosporidiosis. There are a number of sources of Cryptosporidium other than water but due to new regulations water companies are now required by law to sample continuously and analyse daily for Cryptosporidium in the treated water at those sites which have a potential vulnerability. All water companies had to initially conduct risk assessments at their sites to identify if there was any significant risk of contamination. Folkestone and Dover identified that there was significant risk at three of its sites and it is now continuously monitoring and regularly sampling the treated water at these sites. At all these sites, the Company is required to ensure adequate treatment is in place and it is an offence if the new treatment standard for Cryptosporidium is exceeded. In addition to the regulatory requirement, the Company is able to get early warning of any treatment problems from this monitoring system.
6. Drinking Water Quality Incidents
No incidents were reported to the Inspectorate during 1999.
7. Determinations in 1999
Parameter
Total
Contravening PCV No % Coliforms 590 3 0.5 Faecal coliforms 590 0 0.0 Colour 64 0 0.0 Turbidity 84 0 0.0 Odour 64 0 0.0 Taste 64 0 0.0 Hydrogen ion 265 0 0.0 Nitrate 70 0 0.0 Nitrite 64 0 0.0 Aluminium 64 0 0.0 Iron 84 0 0.0 Manganese 64 0 0.0 Lead 16 0 0.0 PAH 64 1 1.6 Trihalomethanes 18 0 0.0 Total pesticides 74 0 0.0 Other pesticides 239 0 0.0 All others 786 0 0.0 Total 3264 4 0.1
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Drinking Water Inspectorate,
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Telephone : 020 7944 5956 - Facsimile : 020 7944 5969
E-mail: dwi_enquiries@detr.gov.uk
Published 12 July 2000 / Updated 11 July 2001
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