Drinking Water Inspectorate

The Drinking Water Inspectorate are a team of professionals who have specialist and expert knowledge of the water supply. Water Engineering, Building Services, Chemistry, and Microbiology are just a small selection of the subjects that the team deals with. The Water Inspectorate naturally oversees water related health matters, and hence takes advice from the Government Chief Medical Officer. The primary function however, is to check that water companies in England and Wales supply water which is safe to drink and meets the standards set in the Water Regulations. This is achieved by means of technical audits of each Water Company consisting of :

• An annual assesment of the quality of drinking water supplied by the companies.
• Inspection of individual companies.

• Satisfactory procedures are employed during sampling.
• Accurate meathods are adopted and carried out by trained staff when sampling.
• Appropriate numbers of tests are completed.
• Public records are accurate and the correct results are entered,
• Water treatment processes are appropriate.
• Water treatment processes and the water distribution system are operated and maintained satisfactorily.
• Consumer complaints are handled correctly.

The Drinking Water Inspectorate can be contacted as follows :

Drinking Water Inspectorate
Floor 2/A1, Ashdown House,
123 Victoria St.,
London.
SW1E 6DE