Dwr Cymru Cyfyngedig – Air Valve Risk Management Improvement
Notice under regulation 28(4) of the Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations 2018 (as amended)
Reference: DWR-2025-00001
Version Number: 1
Water undertaker as appointed under section 6 of the Water Industry Act 1991 (as amended): Dwr Cymru Cyfyngedig, with registered number 02366777 (hereinafter called ‘the company’).
Assets Affected:
- Whole company
Details of this Notice:
- The Drinking Water Inspectorate (‘the Inspectorate’) has received a set of regulation 28(1) reports of the Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations 2018 (‘the Regulations’) from the company dated on various dates, which states that there is or has been a significant risk of supplying water from all company air valves (and associated assets as applicable) that could constitute a potential danger to human health or could be unwholesome.
- Consequently, this Notice is served on the company by the Inspectorate on behalf of the Welsh Ministers, under regulation 28(4) for the assets listed above, for risks associated with:
|
Description of Risk |
Hazard/ Hazardous Event/ Parameter |
Hazard I D |
|---|---|---|
|
Potential for contamination of water supplies due to air valve risks. |
E. coli Cryptosporidium Turbidity Microbiological |
For example: D100630 |
- The company are required to satisfy the following requirements.
The date given is that until or by which the requirements must be maintained or satisfied, as appropriate.
Requirements:
(a) To maintain the following measures for the period specified in each case:
- Continue with existing arrangements for the inspection and maintenance of air valves.
Date: Ongoing for the duration of this Notice - Continue to follow Company network operating procedures (including risk assessment for planned activities, utilising trained colleagues).
Date: Ongoing for the duration of this Notice - Continue to follow Company procedures when potential contamination of the network is identified.
Date: Ongoing for the duration of this Notice - Continue to follow Company procedures regarding a review of air-valve locations when investigating sample breaches.
Date: Ongoing for the duration of this Notice - Continue existing programmes of air valve inspections and maintenance.
Date: Ongoing for the duration of this Notice - Continue to review the company’s regulation 28 reports for the risks associated with air valves, to include findings and conclusions from the inspection process.
Date: Ongoing for the duration of this Notice - Continue with existing arrangements regarding engagement with landowners on the basis of risk.
Date: Ongoing for the duration of this Notice
(b) To review, revise or make operational the following measures, by the dates specified in each case:
- Define categories for air valve risk assessment.
Date: 31 May 2026 - Conduct a desktop review of the company’s records to ensure all individual air valves are listed. This should include all stages including abstraction, raw water, treatment, storage, and distribution.
- Categorise these air valves according to the updated risk assessment in step 1.
- Outputs of the review are used to inform the DWSP risk assessment.
- Ensure all air valves are tracked via relevant systems.
Date: 31 July 2026
- Review the procedures for inspection and maintenance of all types of air valves (critical and non-critical), to include a defined risk-based frequency for inspection and maintenance, records of findings and details of escalation. Define actions and investigations to be completed for air valves that are unable to be located, before these can be labelled as non-existent.
Date: 31 August 2026 - Review procedures to ensure they include engagement with landowners to mitigate risk if air valves are situated on private land or access is open.
Date: 31 August 2026 - Review other relevant procedures to ensure the risk of air valves is considered where appropriate, for example operational and regulatory sampling breach investigatory procedures, consumer complaints regarding water quality, low pressure or no water events and other water quality events where necessary.
Date: 31 August 2026 - Undertake a review of the approach to capturing proactive and reactive maintenance information for air valves to ensure they are reliably captured across all locations and asset types.
Date: 30 November 2026 - Develop or review the strategy outlining the approach to future inspection and maintenance of air valves, including a tracking system to ensure that inspections are carried out within the defined inspection frequency.
Date: 30 November 2026 - For new air valve installations, review and update the methodology for installing new air valves to ensure:
- they are installed in a suitable low risk location
- they are added to the asset base and inform the DWSP risk assessment and allocated an appropriate inspection and maintenance frequency
- they are added to the work log so that inspection and maintenance activities can be automatically scheduled
Date: 30 April 2026
- Develop programme for inspection and maintenance of all air valves with a view to ensuring that hazards to drinking water quality and sufficiency are captured at all stages of water supply within the drinking water safety plan. Air valves with no history or record of previous inspection or maintenance should be considered as a risk factor and considered as a higher risk until the inspection has been completed and the risk reviewed.
Date: 30 November 2026 - Locate all air valves in the asset base and complete the inspection and maintenance of all air valves with risk categorisation as per step b (1). Maintain an action plan to mitigate the actions arising from the inspections. Prioritise any high-risk actions identified.
Date: 31 March 2030 - Complete all high-risk actions and have an action plan with timescales for any remaining actions.
Date: 31 March 2031
(c) To audit whether the measures have been effective by the following means:
- Define an audit strategy to monitor the effectiveness of the measures specified in sections (a) and (b).
Date: 31 March 2026 - Implement, and keep under continuous review, the audit strategy defined in measure (c)1.
Date: Following completion of measure (c)1. onwards.
(d) Not to supply water for regulation 4(1) purposes from air valves, or not to so supply unless the specified conditions below are satisfied:
- Not applicable
(e) To provide the following information in the time and manner specified below to enable monitoring of progress towards the mitigation of the risks:
- Provide a progress report annually.
Date: by 31 January each year. - Provide a report on (b)1, category definition for air valve risk assessment.
Date: 30 June 2026 - Provide a report on the desktop review conducted in (b)2.
Date: 31 August 2026 - Provide a report and the reviewed procedure as described in (b)3, (b)4 and (b)5.
Date: 31 September 2026 - Provide a report on the review conducted in (b)6, and the strategy for air valve inspection and maintenance as described in measure (b)7, and the programme developed in measure (b)9, including the strategy for air valves with no history of previous inspection or maintenance.
Date: 31 December 2026 - Provide a report on measure (b)8, the methodology for new air valve installations.
Date: 31 May 2026 - On an annual basis, provide an update on the progress made on (b)10, to locate and complete inspection and maintenance of all air valves, include the action plan and timescales with actions pending or completed.
Date: 30 April 2027 and then annually by 30 April each year. - Provide a report on (b)11, the completion of the high risk actions, and the action plan for any remaining actions.
Date: 30 April 2031 - Submit the audit strategy for auditing the effectiveness of the measures, as specified in measure (c)1.
Date: 30 April 2026 - Submit any revisions of the audit strategy produced under measure (c)2.
Date: Within 1 month of a revision - Submit a report in the event that any completed measures of this Notice need to be altered in any way, for any reason.
Date: Ongoing for the duration of this Notice - Submit a satisfactory completion report accompanied by a revised regulation 28(1) report with Board level Director sign-off.
Date: 30 April 2032
Further Details of this Notice:
- Any product or substance used as a result of the requirements in this Notice must comply with regulation 31.
- Under regulation 28(6) the Inspectorate, on behalf of the Welsh Ministers, may by notice served on the company, revoke or vary this Notice.
- Failure by the company to comply with this Notice may result in enforcement proceedings under section 18 of the Water Industry Act 1991 (as amended).
Signed
Nicholas Adjei
Deputy Chief Inspector, on behalf of the Welsh Ministers
9 February 2026
Reference: DWR-2025-00001