Regulatory-driven risk assessment to improve drinking-water quality: A case study of private water supplies in England and Wales

Abstract

Owing to the managerial and regulatory setup of Private Water Supplies (PWS) in England and Wales, the attention and resource required to achieve ‘wholesome’ drinking-water, a regulatory term reflecting quality standards, is often limited. The requirement to risk assess PWS was first included in the English and Welsh Regulations in 2009 and 2010 respectively. However, compliance rates with risk assessment requirements remain low with concerns raised regarding the lack of subsequent action. Using a mixed methods approach of interviews and surveys, this research seeks to: (i) identify available data sources for the completion of risk assessments by Local Authorities; (ii) understand factors which facilitate or hinder decisions made and action taken based on risk assessments; (iii) investigate the influence of the regulatory environment on (i) and (ii); and (iv) pose suggestions for more efficient data use to help improve the drinking-water quality of PWS in England and Wales. Findings highlight gaps in the legislation which impact the national level understanding of PWS drinking-water quality and subsequently impact national level prioritization and resource allocation. The assigned stakeholders responsible for risk assessment are reviewed and discussed. Recommendations include the development of an environmental health database to support institutional data sharing; a greater recognition of the differing resource type and enforcement strategies required to undertake risk assessment, in comparison to water quality sampling alone; introduction of Sanitary Inspection forms to PWS operators and financial support structures to facilitate remedial action. Methods which may support reduced sampling data, such as hydrogeological modeling, are discussed.