The Water Supply (Water Quality) (Amendment) Regulations 1999

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations 1989, which, in part, implement Council Directive 80/778/EEC (OJ No. L229, 30.8.80, p. 11) on the quality of water intended for human consumption. The amendments make specific provision intended to ensure that water supplied for human consumption is not contaminated with cryptosporidium, a parasite which can be detrimental to human health.

The Regulations amend the 1989 Regulations to require water undertakers to carry out risk assessments to establish whether there is a significant risk from cryptosporidium oocysts in water supplied from their treatment works for human consumption (regulation 2(1)). Where it is established that there is such a risk the relevant water undertakers must use a process for treating the water to ensure that the average number of cryptosporidium oocysts per 10 litres of water is less than one. To verify compliance with this requirement water undertakers must ensure that the water leaving their treatment works is continuously sampled for cryptosporidium oocysts.

Regulation 2(2) concerns criminal offences and regulation 2(3) requires the results of the monitoring to be placed on a publicly accessible record.

[A regulatory impact assessment in respect of the Regulations may be obtained from the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, Ashdown House, 123 Victoria Street, London SW1P 3PY or the Environment Division, Welsh Office, Cathays Park, Cardiff CF1 3NQ.]