The Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations 2018

Made: 22 May 2018

Laid before the National Assembly for Wales: 25 May 2018

Laid before Parliament: 30 May 2018

Coming into force: 15 June 2018

The Welsh Ministers are designated for the purposes of section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972 in relation to the quality of water intended for domestic purposes or for use in a food production undertaking.

The Welsh Ministers make these Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred upon them by section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972 and sections 67, 69, 77(3) and (4) and 213(2) of the Water Industry Act 1991 .

PART 1 — General

Title, commencement and application

1

• (1) The title of these Regulations is the Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations 2018 and they come into force on 15 June 2018.

• (2) Parts 1 to 9 and 11 of these Regulations apply in relation to the supply of water by every—

• (a) water undertaker whose area is wholly or mainly in Wales; and

• (b) water supply licensee so far as relating to licensed activities using the supply system of any water undertaker whose area is wholly or mainly in Wales.

• (3) Part 10 of these Regulations applies to local authorities in Wales, as regards the discharge of functions under that Part, in relation to every—

• (a) water undertaker whose area is wholly in Wales;

• (b) water undertaker whose area is partly in Wales and partly in England, but only in respect of the part in Wales; and

• (c) water supply licensee so far as relating to licensed activities using the supply system situated in Wales of any water undertaker.

Interpretation

2

• (1) In these Regulations—

• “the 2010 Regulations” means the Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations 2010 ;

• “the Act” means the Water Industry Act 1991;

• “appropriate local authority”, in relation to—a departure authorised under regulation 22,an application for any such authorisation, oran event specified in regulation 35(6),means a local authority whose area contains any part of the water supply zone to which the authorisation relates or, in the case of an application, would relate if a departure were authorised in the terms sought, or whose area is affected or is likely to be affected by the event;

• “blending point” means a point at which water originating from two or more sources and treated for the purposes of their supply for regulation 4(1) purposes are combined under conditions that are designed to secure that, after such combination, the requirements of regulation 4(2) are met;

• “Chapter III” means Chapter III (quality and sufficiency of supplies) of Part III (water supply) of the Act;

• “consumer” means a person to whom water is supplied for regulation 4(1) purposes by a relevant supplier in the discharge of its duties under Chapter III;

• “disinfection” means a process of water treatment to remove or render harmless to human health, every pathogenic micro-organism and pathogenic parasite that would otherwise be present in the water; and “disinfected” shall be construed accordingly;

• “E.coli”meansEscherichia coli;

• “groundwater” means water contained in underground strata, and section 221(3) of the Water Resources Act 1991 (general interpretation) will have effect for the purpose of this definition as it has effect for the purpose of construing references in that Act to water contained in underground strata;

• “Group A parameter” means a parameter specified in column 2 of Table 1 in Schedule 3;

• “Group B parameter” means a parameter specified in column 2 of Table 2 or, as the case may be, Table 3 in Schedule 3;

• “indicative dose” means the committed effective dose for 1 year of ingestion resulting from all the radionuclides whose presence has been detected in a supply of water intended for human consumption, of natural and artificial origin, excluding tritium, potassium-40, radon and short-lived radon decay products;

• “indicator parameter” means a parameter listed in Schedule 2;

• “monitoring of a group A parameter” has the meaning given in regulation 5(1);

• “monitoring of a group B parameter” has the meaning given in regulation 5(3);

• “NTU” means Nephelometric Turbidity Unit;

• “parameter” means a property, element, organism or substance listed in the second column of Table A or Table B in Schedule 1 to these Regulations, or in Schedule 2, as read, where appropriate, with the notes to Schedule 2 and those Tables;

• “pesticides and related products” means any of the following, and includes their relevant metabolites, degradation and reaction products—any organic insecticide;any organic herbicide;any organic fungicide;any organic nematocide;any organic acaricide;any organic algicide;any organic rodenticide;any organic slimicide; andany product related to any of (a) to (h) (including any growth regulator);

• “parametric value” and “prescribed concentration or value”, in relation to any parameter, means the maximum or minimum concentration or value specified in relation to that parameter in Table A or Table B in Schedule 1 as measured by reference to the unit of measurement so specified and as read, where appropriate, with the notes to those Tables;

• “Public Health England” means the executive agency of that name of the Department of Health and Social Care;

• “Public Health Wales National Health Service Trust” means a National Health Service Trust within the meaning of the National Health Service (Wales) Act 2006 if, and in so far as, it has the function of providing services in relation to public health in Wales ;

• “radioactive parameters” means the following indicator parameters listed in Schedule 2—indicative dose (item 8);radon (item 9);tritium (item 12);

• “regulation 4(1) purposes”, in relation to the supply of water, means a supply—for such domestic purposes as consist in or include, cooking, drinking, food preparation or washing; orfor any of those domestic purposes, to premises in which food is produced ;

• “relevant supplier” means a water undertaker or water supply licensee;

• “retail licensee” means a person who is the holder of a water supply licence with a restricted retail authorisation within the meaning of Schedule 2A to the Act ;

• “sampling point”—in relation to water supplied from a distribution network, means a point, being a consumer's tap, that is selected for the purposes of Part 4 of these Regulations;in relation to water supplied from a tanker, means the point at which the water emerges from the tanker;

• “specification”, in relation to an indicator parameter, means the concentration, value or state, shown as applicable to that parameter in Schedule 2 as measured by reference to the unit of measurement so shown;

• “state”, in relation to an indicator parameter, means the state specified in relation to that parameter in Schedule 2 as measured by reference to the unit of measurement so specified;

• “suitably accredited body” means the Welsh Ministers or a person acting on behalf of the Welsh Ministers;

• “supplementary licensee” means a person who is the holder of a water supply licence with a supplementary authorisation within the meaning of Schedule 2A to the Act;

• “supply point” means a blending point, service reservoir, treatment works or other point, not being a sampling point, which the Welsh Ministers authorise under regulation 8 for the purposes of regulation 6;

• “supply system” is to be construed in accordance with section 17B(5) of the Act (section 17A: supplementary) ;

• “water of a relevant description” means water supplied by a relevant supplier which uses a supply system for the purposes of supplying water to consumers, being a supply system into which the water undertaker or supplementary licensee introduces water;

• “water supply zone”, in relation to a water undertaker and a year, means an area designated for that year by the water undertaker in accordance with regulation 3; and

• “year” means a calendar year.

• (2) In these Regulations a reference to an application or notice includes a reference to that application or notice in electronic form.

• (3) In these Regulations, a “monitoring programme” is the identification and collection of data on any substance or organism identified during a risk assessment to confirm compliance with the prescribed concentrations set out in Schedule 1, and—

• (a) must consist of—

• (i) collection and analysis of discrete water samples;

• (ii) measurements recorded by a continuous monitoring process; or

• (iii) a combination of both of the methods described in paragraph (i) and (ii) at the frequency required in Schedule 3 or at a frequency notified to the water undertaker or supplementary licensee; and

• (b) may also consist of—

• (i) inspections of records of the functionality and maintenance of status of equipment; and

• (ii) inspections of the catchment area, water abstraction, treatment, storage and distribution infrastructure.

• (4) Subject to paragraph (4), references in these Regulations to a service reservoir are references to any structure in which a reserve of water that has been treated with a view to complying with the requirements of regulation 4 is contained and stored for the sole purpose of meeting a variable demand for the supply of water.

• (5) Where references in these Regulations to a service reservoir would, but for this paragraph, include references to a structure comprising more than one compartment—

• (a) each compartment which has its own water inlet and water outlet and is not connected hydraulically to any other compartment will be treated as a single service reservoir;

• (b) the compartments that are connected hydraulically will be treated as a single service reservoir; and

• (c) unless all of the compartments are connected hydraulically, the structure as a whole will not be treated as a service reservoir.

• (6) In these Regulations, a reference to an EU or Euratom Directive is to be read as if any reference in that Directive to a member State in a provision imposing an obligation on, or providing a discretion to, a member State were to either the Welsh Ministers or local authority depending on which, immediately before exit day, was responsible for compliance with that obligation, or exercise of that discretion, in respect of England or Wales.

PART 2 — Water Supply Zones

Water supply zones

3

• (1) Before the beginning of each year in which it intends to supply water, a water undertaker must designate the names and areas within its area of supply that are to be its water supply zones for that year.

• (2) A water supply zone may not comprise an area whose population immediately before the beginning of the year in question is estimated by the water undertaker to exceed 100,000.

• (3) The water quality within a water supply zone must be approximately uniform.

• (4) A water undertaker may not vary a designation under paragraph (1) after the beginning of the year in relation to which the designation has effect.

PART 3 — Wholesomeness

Wholesomeness

4

• (1) Subject to paragraphs (4) and (5), water supplied to premises that is intended for human consumption including—

• (a) for such domestic purposes as consist in or include, cooking, drinking, food preparation or washing, or

• (b) for food production purposes,

is to be regarded as wholesome for the purposes of Chapter III, as it applies to the supply of water for those purposes, if the requirements of paragraph (2) are satisfied.

• (2) The requirements of this paragraph are—

• (a) that the water does not contain—

• (i) any micro-organism (other than a parameter listed in Schedule 1) or parasite, or

• (ii) any substance (other than a parameter listed in Schedule 1),

at a concentration or value which would constitute a potential danger to human health;

• (b) that the water does not contain any substance (whether or not a parameter) at a concentration or value which, in conjunction with any other substance it contains (whether or not a parameter) would constitute a potential danger to human health;

• (c) that the water does not contain concentrations or values of the parameters listed in Tables A and B in Schedule 1 in excess of or, as the case may be, less than, the prescribed concentrations or values; and

• (d) that the water satisfies the formula “[nitrate]/50 + [nitrite]/3 < 1”, where the square brackets signify the concentrations in mg/l for nitrate (NO₃) and nitrite (NO₂).

• (3) The point at which the requirements of paragraph (2), in so far as they relate to the parameters set out in Part 1 of Table A and in Table B in Schedule 1 are to be complied with is—

• (a) in the case of water supplied from a tanker, the point at which the water emerges from the tanker;

• (b) in the case of water supplied in bottles or containers, the point at which the water first emerges from any bottle or container collected from a local distribution point;

• (c) in the case of water used in a food production undertaking, the point at which it is used in the undertaking; and

• (d) in any other case, the consumer's tap.

• (4) Water supplied for regulation 4(1) purposes will not be regarded as wholesome for the purposes of Chapter III if, on transfer from a treatment works for supply for those purposes—

• (a) it contains a concentration of the coliform bacteria or E coliparameter (items 1 and 2 in Part 2 of Table A in Schedule 1) in excess of the prescribed concentrations; or

• (b) it contains a concentration of nitrite in excess of 0.1 mg NO₂/l.

• (5) Subject to paragraph (6), water supplied for regulation 4(1) purposes will not be regarded as wholesome for the purposes of Chapter III if, on transfer from a service reservoir for supply for those purposes, it contains a concentration of the coliform bacteria or E coliparameter in excess of the prescribed concentrations.

• (6) Water transferred from a service reservoir for supply for regulation 4(1) purposes is to be regarded as unwholesome if more than 5% of samples taken in a year exceed the prescribed concentration for the coliform bacteria parameter.

PART 4 — Monitoring of Water Supplies

Interpretation and application of Part 4

5

• (1) In this Part “monitoring of a Group A parameter” means monitoring of a Group A parameter for the purpose of obtaining information at regular intervals—

• (a) as to the organoleptic and microbiological quality of water;

• (b) where relevant, as to the effectiveness of drinking water treatment, particularly for the purposes of disinfection, for the purposes referred to in paragraph (2); and

• (c) as regards indicator parameters, whether water supplied for regulation 4(1) purposes meets the specifications for those parameters.

• (2) The purpose of monitoring of a Group A parameter is to determine whether the presence of such a parameter in water supplied for regulation 4(1) purposes satisfies the provisions of Part 3 or, if a departure has been authorised under Part 7 in relation to that supply, the provisions of Part 3 as read with the terms of that departure.

• (3) In this Part, “monitoring of a Group B parameter” means monitoring of a Group B parameter for the purpose of obtaining information from which it may be established whether water supplied for regulation 4(1) purposes—

• (a) satisfies the provisions of Part 3 or, if a departure has been authorised under Part 7 in relation to that supply, the provisions of Part 3 as read with the terms of that departure;

• (b) meets the specifications for indicator parameters; and

• (c) in respect of other parameters identified as relevant by the Welsh Ministers under regulation 9, meets the specifications for those parameters.

• (4) This Part applies to water supplied for regulation 4(1) purposes by a relevant supplier in the performance of its duties under Chapter III.

• (5) Regulations 6 to 10 apply to a supplementary licensee in relation to samples taken from supply points as they apply to a water undertaker, but only in so far as the supplementary licensee is introducing water into a water supply zone in which the water undertaker takes samples under this Part (to the extent authorised by or under regulation 8) from supply points.

Monitoring: general provisions

6

• (1) Paragraph (2) applies for the purpose of determining whether water to which this Part applies satisfies the provisions of Part 3 or, if a departure has been authorised under Part 7 in relation to that supply, those provisions as read with the terms of that authorisation.

• (2) A water undertaker must take or cause to be taken, and analyse or cause to be analysed, not less than the number of samples of the water within each of the water supply zones which it supplies specified in, or in accordance with the provisions of, this Part and Schedule 3.

• (3) Except in a case to which paragraph (4) applies, the parameters listed in Tables A and B in Schedule 1 and the indicator parameters must be subject to—

• (a) monitoring of a Group A parameter if the parameter is one listed in column 2 of Table 1 in Schedule 3, and the circumstances specified in column 3 of that Table apply; and

• (b) monitoring of a Group B parameter in any other case.

• (4) Where the distribution of water in any part of a water supply zone is by tanker and is (or is likely to be) an intermittent short-term supply, samples of water from each tanker from which the water is distributed must be taken—

• (a) at the commencement of the distribution from that tanker; and