Watchdog says England’s drinking water is excellent but risk rises

Drinking water in England is, according to the nation’s water quality watchdog, “excellent.” However, the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) has also reported that the industry median for the Compliance Risk Index (CRI) — which measures the impact of a compliance failure on company performance and the potential impact of those compliance failures on consumers —has grown by more than 100% over the past two years.

Writing in the DWI’s recently published annual report, chief inspector of drinking water, Marcus Rink, said instances where improvement is needed should be highlighted “to ensure that there is continual investment, development and enhancement for a critical societal service to benefit consumers and their future generations.”

The inspectorate has reported that 99.7% of the water samples that it took in 2023 met regulatory standards, with the figure close to unvarying across the areas for testing: chemical, indicators (turbidity and so on), microbiological and pesticides. But he added: “Scrutinising company water safety plans, audits and events reveal risks within drinking water supply systems which on investigation may require additional mitigation to reduce risks.”

Rink, meanwhile emphasises the need for water companies to reassure the public that England’s drinking water is top quality: “Companies must focus on outcomes which secure both public health, and the perception of high-quality drinking water, which in turn gives people confidence in their drinking water, particularly when trust in water companies is relatively low for reasons that are unlikely to be related to drinking water quality.”

In conclusion, Rink writes: “While it is likely that compliance in England will remain stable, evidencing that drinking water is currently excellent in England, strategic improvement must secure the supply for future generations mitigating residual and future risk.”

But he also points out the challenge in informing the public and others on positive developments: “The complexity of risk assessment methodology means that companies approach this in different ways, and therefore the compatibility of the data across the industry requires improving.”

He says that working with the companies during 2023 “has contributed to drafting of new guidance to drive consistency in drinking water safety plan reporting.”

The challenges in messaging are highlighted in lead pipe replacement. Water companies have collectively declared an ambition to remove all lead piping by 2050. But the earliest company scheduled to fully replace all lead pipes at its current rate will not do so for more than 50 years. Most will take more than 200 years while the back markers will still have lead pipes to remove more than 1,000 years from now.