- Drinking Water 2024 – Summary of the Chief Inspector’s report for drinking water in England
- Foreword
- Water supplies and testing
- Compliance with water quality standards
- Water quality events
- Asset health and service reservoir integrity
- Consumer contacts
- Water safety planning and risk assessment
- Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)
- Audit programme completed by the Inspectorate
- Enforcement, transformation and recommendations
- Lead in water
- Materials in contact with drinking water (Regulation 31)
- Security and Emergencies (SEMD)
- Network Information systems (NIS)
- Research publications
- Raw water data
- Whistleblowers
- Working with stakeholders
- Annex A – Number of tests carried out by companies
- Annex B – Compliance with standards
- Annex C – Compliance failures and events
Annex A – Number of tests carried out by companies
Numbers in brackets reflect the number of active works, reservoirs or zones operated by that company in the region in 2024. Some companies are permitted to carry out some tests on samples taken from supply points, rather than from consumers’ taps
| Company | Water treatment works | Service reservoirs | Consumer taps | Number of tests per company | Target number of tests |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AFW | 68,303(22) | 31,381(40) | 89,064(81) | 188,748 | 188,858 |
| ALB | 0(0) | 0(0) | 879(2) | 879 | 894 |
| ANH | 131,314(71) | 78,493(116) | 177,399(209) | 387,206 | 389,836 |
| BRL | 17,540(12) | 38,815(60) | 33,856(34) | 90,211 | 90,217 |
| CAM | 13,433(12) | 5,985(14) | 8,403(12) | 27,821 | 28,000 |
| ESP | 0(0) | 0(0) | 5,859(11) | 5,859 | 5,863 |
| ICW | 0(0) | 0(0) | 8,968(7) | 8,968 | 8,978 |
| ISC | 1,685(7) | 2,031(8) | 1,968(13) | 5,684 | 6,209 |
| IWN | 0(0) | 0(0) | 29,203(51) | 29,203 | 29,203 |
| LNW | 0(0) | 0(0) | 14,050(27) | 14,050 | 14,058 |
| NES | 58,337(43) | 70,296(147) | 137,951(127) | 266,584 | 266,974 |
| PRT | 19,502(13) | 7,809(4) | 20,117(10) | 47,427 | 47,462 |
| SES | 12,716(6) | 7,112(5) | 19,996(25) | 39,824 | 39,824 |
| SEW | 72,940(63) | 56,252(112) | 83,496(74) | 212,688 | 213,326 |
| SRN | 74,518(65) | 55,562(71) | 89,594(102) | 219,673 | 219,723 |
| SST | 21,328(15) | 6,384(14) | 36,558(40) | 64,270 | 64,300 |
| SVT | 114,865(87) | 87,219(201) | 227,506(266) | 429,590 | 429,728 |
| SWB | 51,930(28) | 71,166(126) | 86,414(42) | 209,510 | 229,733 |
| TMS | 92,867(79) | 77,223(172) | 261,521(261) | 431,611 | 431,982 |
| UUT | 99,571(67) | 87,673(159) | 198,336(241) | 385,580 | 387,474 |
| VWP | 808(1) | 1,182(4) | 600(0) | 2,590 | 2,590 |
| WSX | 49,156(45) | 81,388(138) | 48,347(78) | 178,890 | 178,932 |
| YKS | 86,074(47) | 89,254(174) | 210,475(109) | 385,803 | 386,283 |
| Total | 3,632,669 | 3,660,447 |
Sampling shortfalls
Water companies are required under regulation to take specific numbers of samples at their assets, the required number varies due to a number of factors, the Inspectorate assesses the shortfalls and discusses them with the company to arrive at an agreed position on the number of shortfalls the company had during the year.
Companies should expect greater scrutiny on their shortfalls in future reports as the Inspectorate is taking a greater interest in this area and will soon begin to track them more closely.
| Company code | Agreed sampling shortfall |
|---|---|
| AFW | 110 |
| ALB | 15 |
| ANH | 2,630 |
| BRL | 6 |
| CAM | 179 |
| ESP | 4 |
| ICW | 10 |
| ISC | 525 |
| IWN | 2,227 |
| LNW | 8 |
| NES | 390 |
| PRT | 35 |
| SES | 0 |
| SEW | 638 |
| SRN | 50 |
| SST | 30 |
| SVT | 138 |
| SWB | 20,223 |
| TMS | 371 |
| UUT | 1,894 |
| VWP | 0 |
| WSX | 42 |
| YKS | 480 |
| Total | 30,005 |