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Statements


Ms Beryl Brown
Head of Competition Policy
Office of Water Services
Centre City Tower
7 Hill Street
BIRMINGHAM B5 4UA
25 August, 1999

 

COMPETITION ACT CONSULTATION

1. I am pleased to comment on the proposals.  My comments are limited to the issues relating to drinking water quality, namely:

PROTECTION OF DRINKING WATER QUALITY

2. With a sole supplier abstracting the raw water, treating the water and using its own network all matters of drinking water quality are the responsibility of that company.  Decisions are taken on the operation of the system, whether waters of different types are mixed and how, in what quantities and at what times they are put into the network. Should there be any water quality problems, changes can be made to operations, and if necessary, DWI can take enforcement action against the company.

3. It is necessary to think through the implications of there being two or more suppliers putting treated water into sharing the same network. How can problems be avoided at the planning stage?  What conditions need to be put in place so that DWI is able to take the necessary enforcement action if standards are breached or if problems arise which cause consumer complaints?

4. It would not always be sufficient for the water leaving a treatment works, or being pumped into the network, to meet the required standards. Mixing of incompatible waters can result in precipitations of substances into the distribution system or deterioration of the fabric of the network which result in later problems.  Consumers can simply object to a combination of hard and soft waters when they have been accustomed to receiving one or the other but not both. Where there are lead compliance problems (which result from lead service pipes) all of the water put into supply and supplied to consumers would need to meet plumbosolvency requirements. There is a need for a clear and transparent procedure for checking the compatibility of waters before a decision is taken on allowing that water to be added to the network.  There may be a need to define the quantities which can be mixed and any limitations on the times of day when that water can be injected into the system.  This would be merely reflecting the considerations which have to be made by a sole supplier.

5. DWI needs to be able to take effective enforcement action should there be non compliance with the standards.  At each treatment works or injection point to the system there would be a requirement to monitor compliance against the standards at treatment works together with any additional requirements such as dosing for plumbosolvency.

6. At consumers' taps, it can be expected that consumers would receive mixed waters such that it would not be possible to identify the source. There could be failures of bacteriological standards, which providing it can be established that these are not failures at works or due to the condition of the consumer's plumbing, would have to remain the responsibility of the network operator. This would be part of the cost of operating the network including any service reservoirs.

7. Should there be a drinking water quality incident, DWI would investigate to determine whether water unfit for human consumption had been supplied and whether the operators had done everything that they could have reasonably been expected to do to prevent supply of unfit water.  Should there be a case for prosecution proceedings under Section 70 of the Water Industry Act 1991, ideally DWI would need to be able to take that action against whichever party was responsible.  However, it may be necessary to take action against the network operator and if appropriate that undertaker would have to have contractual legal recourse against others.

CONCLUSIONS

8. Common carriage contracts would have to be drawn up to give legal clarity on who is responsible for water quality at each stage of treatment and supply, and therefore to whom enforcement action under Section 18 should be directed in the event of a breach of standards, and against whom a prosecution should be brought in the event of supply of water unfit for human consumption under Section 70.

Yours sincerely
 
 

MICHAEL ROUSE
Chief Inspector

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Updated 11 July 2001
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