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Annexes
A. The Regulatory Framework
The regulatory standards for drinking water quality in Scotland largely stem from European Directives. On 5 December 1998 a revised Drinking Water Directive (98/83/ EC) was published in the 'Official Journal of the European Communities'. Member States of the European Union were given five years to meet the standards set in the revised Directive. Exceptions to this timescale are the final standards for trihalomethanes (8 years) and lead (15 years). The original Drinking Water Directive of 15 July 1980 (80/778/ EEC) was in force prior to this and was reflected in the Water Supply (Water Quality)(Scotland) Regulations 1990. Scotland and the rest of the UK implemented the revised Directive before the end of 2003 as required by the EC.
The key regulations are:
The Water (Scotland) Act 1980
- Scottish Water must supply wholesome water for domestic purposes. It is a criminal offence to supply water unfit for human consumption;
- Scottish Ministers must take enforcement action against Scottish Water if it fails in its duty to supply wholesome water unless the failure is trivial or Scottish Water is complying with a legally binding undertaking to remedy the matter;
- local authorities must take appropriate steps to keep themselves informed about the wholesomeness of public and private water supplies in their area and notify Scottish Water if not satisfied,.
- local authorities are required to secure improvements to private water supplies if they consider them necessary, and
- wholesomeness is defined for public supplies in the Water Supply (Water Quality) (Scotland) Regulations 1990 (now 2001 Regs) and for private supplies in the Private Water Supplies (Scotland) Regulations 1992.
The Water Supply (Water Quality) (Scotland) Regulations 2001
- The 2001 regulations effectively came into force on 25 December 2003;
- define wholesomeness by setting standards for 40 parameters and a further 11 indicator parameters;
- set and define, the supply zone as the basic unit for quality monitoring;
- specify detailed sampling requirements for samples taken at taps within zones, at service reservoirs and at water treatment works;
- require Scottish Water to publish an annual report and keep a public register of water quality in its area;
- transpose the requirements of Council Directive 98/83/ EC of 3 November 1998 on the quality of water intended for human consumption into Scottish legislation.
The Water Industry (Scotland) Act 2002
- Created the post of Drinking Water Quality Regulator for Scotland ( DWQR);
- DWQR is responsible for enforcing the Water Supply (Water Quality)(Scotland) Regulations 2001;
- DWQR is independent of Ministers;
- DWQR has powers to obtain information, power of entry or inspection and power of enforcement;
- DWQR also has emergency powers to require a water supplier to carry out works to ensure quality of water supplied is safe for public consumption.
The Surface Waters (Abstraction for Drinking Water) (Classification) (Scotland) Regulations 1996
- sets standards for the quality of surface water to be used as sources of public water supply;
- permits waivers for certain parameters where these have a natural origin; and
- requires Scottish Water to classify all its sources of water in accordance with prescribed quality criteria subject to authorised waivers.
The Cryptosporidium (Scottish Water) Directions 2003
- the Cryptosporidium (Scottish Water) Directions 2003 came into force on 1 January 2004;
- revised Directions provide for more widespread testing for Cryptosporidium to provide data about background levels in water supplies;
- provision put in place for Cryptosporidium sampling at all water treatment works between January and June 2004; and
- from June 2004, every supply in Scotland has been required to be tested at least once a month with the frequency of testing being based on the assessed risk and the flow through the works.
The Private Water Supplies (Scotland) Regulations 2006
- define wholesomeness in the same manner and prescribe the same standards as for public supplies in accordance with the EC Drinking Water Directive 98/83/ EC;
- require local authorities to classify private supplies according to size and use;
- require local authorities to monitor private supplies in their area according to classification and risk;
- set out reporting requirements local authorities must fulfil; and
- provide for grants to enable private supply owners to make improvement.
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