Drinking water supplies in England and Wales are overwhelmingly high quality, with 99.97 per cent of water supplied to homes and businesses passing crucial water quality tests, according to the Drinking Water Inspectorate’s annual report.
However the report revealed 31 out of 68 tests taken failed to meet the standard stem from plumbing issues in businesses. This included the presence of bacteria and chemicals and problems with the taste and odour of the drinking water.
Poor plumbing practices and unsuitable fittings can not only cause illness among staff and customers alike, but cost time and money to put right.
One such hotel in Northumbria had to close for eight weeks to rectify their poor plumbing, after a routine water quality test by their local water company uncovered E. Coli, a harmful bacteria.
Several breaches of water fittings regulations were found to be the cause, which the hotel rectified over the eight-week closure period.
E. Coli was also detected in a Warwickshire pub kitchen, likely to be from poor tap hygiene.
To help businesses avoid the potential harm and financial burden that plumbing problems can cause, WaterSafe is urging homeowners and property managers to always employ someone who is approved to work on their plumbing system to help keep their drinking water high-quality.
Julie Spinks, Director at WaterSafe, explains: “Using a WaterSafe approved contractor for any work on your water supply pipe or internal plumbing is one of the easiest ways to help prevent illness and the additional cost of rectifying any problems.
“Simple plumbing tasks can make a big difference, such as fitting appropriate backflow prevention devices on pipework to prevent water from toilets, white goods and garden hoses from mixing with your clean drinking water.
“Using a WaterSafe plumber provides reassurance that the contractor is competent and qualified in the water fittings regulations, to maintain high-quality drinking water within their businesses.”
Marcus Rink, Chief Executive of the Drinking Water Inspectorate, explains: “Overall, drinking water in England is extremely high quality, meeting 99.97% compliance with the required standard.
“It’s important that we are not complacent as our annual report details almost half of the samples which failed to meet the required standard were due to problems with internal plumbing.
“We’d caution people to avoid unqualified installers who may inadvertently cause water supplies to become contaminated, and to instead choose a suitably qualified, approved, plumber.
“Businesses should use an installer who is approved through a national accreditation body for competent and qualified installers, such as WaterSafe.”
The annual water quality reports summarise the results of the hundreds of thousands of water quality tests which UK water companies carry out each year on the water they supply from water treatment works and clean water storage tanks, to local homes and businesses.
These tests are analysed at specialist laboratories, with the results reported to water watchdog, the Drinking Water Inspectorate.
Businesses can find their nearest WaterSafe-approved plumber, or other specialist contractor, by visiting watersafe.org.uk.
The annual Drinking Water Reports for England and Wales can be downloaded at dwi.gov.uk.