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Drinking water

One of the main ways in which the water companies in England and Wales have improved the consumer’s lot includes consistently raising the standard of drinking water. The government has set 57 standards for drinking water and companies are legally required to take water samples, test them to check quality standards, and keep a public record of test results. Drinking water quality in England and Wales improved considerably between 1992 and 1996. Water in Scotland and Northern Ireland scores lower than water from the rest of the UK.

There are still areas for concern. The presence of iron in water supplies causes discoloration and is not popular with customers. Nearly 24 per cent of areas in England and Wales failed to meet iron standards in 1996. Water companies are carrying out work to replace old main pipes which cause the problem. A group of substances called PAHs are also causing problems. They are found in coal tar which in the past was used to line iron water mains to prevent rusting. This lining eventually breaks down and can lead to minute traces of PAH in drinking water. There are fears they can be harmful in large amounts.

Drinking water - percentage of tests up to standard

	1992	1996
Anglian	99.0%	99.7%
Bristol	99.1%	99.9%
B'mouth & W Hampshire	99.6%	99.8%
Cambridge	99.8%	99.7%
Chester	99.9%	99.9%
Cholderton	100.0%	100.0%
Essex&Suffolk	97.0%	99.5%
F'stone&Dover	99.2%	99.8%
Hartlepool	99.6%	99.8%
Mid Kent	99.0%	99.8%
Mid Southern	99.6%	99.9%
N.Surrey	98.2%	99.2%
Northumbrian	99.7%	99.8%
N.West	99.5%	99.6%
Portsmouth	99.8%	99.9%
Severn Trent	99.7%	99.8%
S.East	98.5%	99.6%
Southern	99.6%	99.8%
South West	99.7%	99.7%
S.Staffordshire	99.5%	99.7%
Sutton & E Surrey	99.1%	99.6%
Tendring Hundred	99.8%	100.0%
Thames	95.0%	99.5%
Three Valleys	99.3%	99.8%
Wessex	99.6%	99.8%
Wrexham	99.5%	99.9%
Yorkshire	99.4%	99.8%
York	99.8%	99.8%
Dwr Cymru	99.4%	99.7%
Northern Ireland	N/A	98.9%
East of Scotland	N/A	99.5%
West of Scotland	N/A	98.3%
North of Scotland	N/A	97.9%