Qualityworld

A thirst for quality

Two events at the end of the 1980s prompted the establishment of the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) - privatisation of the water industry in 1989 and the serious contamination of drinking water that occurred in Camelford, Cornwall in 1988. Michael Rouse, chief inspector of DWI, explains how the inspectorate has worked to improve the quality of our drinking water

DWI was formed in 1990 following the privatisation of the water industry. Along with the other two regulatory bodies; OFWAT and the National Rivers Authority (now the Environment Agency); DWI operates as an independent inspectorate with all regulatory aspects delegated from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural affairs (DEERA) and the National Assembly for Wales to the chief inspector. The decision to delegate regulatory powers to DWI was instigated by the previous government and upheld by the present government so that regulatory decisions are taken on a wholly technical or legal basis.

It is the responsibility of DWI to achieve the effective and fair regulation of water companies. To help achieve this the organisation has adopted a total quality, continuous improvement approach to meet the substance and the spirit of its 'code for enforcement'. The code defines the manner and speed with which DWI deals with water companies, consumers and others. Having established what the customers want DWI work to narrow the gap between expectation and delivery. While procedures are prepared to ISO 9000 standard, the DWI has not sought to get the badge, as this can direct attention away from meeting the real objective of improved customer satisfaction. DWI measures its performance against its code and also obtains direct feedback from consumers and others.

Before 1990

Before 1990 there were no numerical standards for drinking water quality, although the previous water authorities did do some monitoring, particularly to cover bacteriological safety. Drinking water quality regulations came into force during privatisation as a requirement to implement an EU directive, but also to give a measurable framework for the newly privatised companies. The regulations include sampling, analyses and reporting requirements.

DWI checks that the regulations are being met and takes enforcement action when there are exceedances. This is a co-operative process, with water companies offering their own preferred solutions. These are considered and, if appropriate, accepted by DWI. The process works smoothly and has yielded significant improvements.

In the first years of its existence, DWI carried out extensive inspections of water treatment works and distribution reservoirs. While a lot of what was inspected was good, significant deficiencies were found. In response to these findings, water companies were required to carry out repairs to service reservoirs and to improve fencing to prevent animal access. Also, at treatment works, enforcement action resulted in improvements to disinfection control systems and a significant reduction in bacteriological failures.

Once these fundamental problems had been addressed, the inspectorate was able to modify its approach and carry out inspections that were tailored to specific concerns at individual water companies. The emphasis also turned more directly to consumer related issues including the investigation of incidents and customer complaints. DWI established its mission 'to be recognised as the effective guardians of drinking water quality'.

Caution to the wind?

It is important to consider whether drinking water quality regulation is required at all. After all, we did not have numerical standards in the past. At that time, there was not a good understanding of water quality on health, nor was there the ability to identify bugs or measure chemical contaminants. We know now that there were significant health risks in the past and that numerical standards and good surveillance are necessary for protecting public health.

In the past we did not find out about waterborne induced illness unless there was an epidemic - now we have greatly improved local health surveillance. There is, however, a tendency to think that water-borne illness events will not happen in this country, without the understanding that it is only through highly effective treatment and good monitoring systems that we achieve our current high level of safety. Without these, there would be the possibility of outbreaks of cholera or typhoid as there was in the now distant past.

Camelford

Inevitably, from time to time things do go wrong and there are incidents that affect drinking water quality. Consumers expect these events to be investigated and for the necessary enforcement action and legal retribution processes to take place if required. Unfortunately, in 1988 at the time of the Camelford affair, DWI did not exist. A serious mistake by a stand-in delivery driver led to him emptying the chemical aluminium sulphate into the wrong tank. This resulted in a quantity of the chemical being discharged along with the treated water into the drinking supply

This serious incident compounded the need for the establishment of a drinking water inspectorate. Thankfully, the steps taken by water companies following Camelford, together with the inspection and audit activities taken by DWI, mean that there is virtually no possibility of such an incident happening again.

DWI - a customer focused organisation

DWI is a small organisation, with 18 professional staff covering the whole of England and Wales. It receives 4,000 enquiries each year and has developed a quality-based approach to try to satisfy consumers' needs. In developing its enquiry service, DWI considered what constitutes good service and what needed to be done to match its expectations of service from other organisations.

In customer services the essential ingredients are speed and quality of response. If the query is by telephone the minimum number of transfers, a polite friendly manner and the provision of appropriate relevant accurate information are all important. To test these requirements DWI has set up a first response unit (one full time person with back up) with the knowledge to answer the most frequently asked questions. The unit also utilises a browser driven IT information system to assist in giving required information by subject matter. The system also helps to identify which inspector is most suitable for the referral of more technical or difficult questions.

All enquiries are recorded and tracked on a database and the system allows outstanding enquiries to be identified and monitored. A selection of enquiries are followed up weekly through postal questionnaires to assess whether the customers were satisfied with their response, and if not, why not. The 'why nots' provide ongoing input for improving the service.

Under cover

Routine inspections are usually announced but, from time to time, DWI carries out unannounced visits at the treatment works and at service reservoirs. It is important that water companies realise a DWI inspector could turn up at any works at any time. If regulations are not being met, enforcement action will be taken and companies will have to take necessary action to rectify any deficiency as soon as possible. There have been around 2000 enforcement actions since 1990. It is equally essential that water companies feel that they are being treated fairly. So DWI obtains feedback from them via an independent consultant to preserve anonymity. The results of this feedback are published and action is taken to address the issues raised.

I washed my hands in muddy water...

The operation of distribution systems is another good example of why a quality regulator is needed. In cases of high water velocities, consumers have sometimes received water of muddy appearance because of deposits accumulated in the systems. Consumers, understandably reject this as unfit for human consumption. In the past some water companies worked hard to minimise the problems while others merely regarded it as 'normal'.

Often, when DWI investigated such incidents, it discovered that there had been insufficient forward planning. Frequently there were careless errors - often in the operation of valves. There are now greatly improved operating distribution systems in place, but it was not until the inspectorate prosecuted companies for such cases that the subject (and thus the service to consumers) was taken seriously It is gratifying to see such highly significant improvements stemming from DWI led initiatives.

Looking forward to the future

The quality of drinking water is higher now than ever before. Through the efforts of the water companies, acting within a strong regulatory environment, DWI has achieved a very high degree of safety in this country, with significant benefits to public health. In the last decade there has been a remarkable improvement in compliance with the standards. Failures in 2000 were one eleventh of the number in 1992 (see figure 1 for the improvements). Consumers have access to good information on the quality of their drinking water and they can feel confident that mistakes will not be swept under the carpet. It is vital that any changes which might be introduced to provide lower prices or other benefits to consumers, are not at the expense of this strong position on safety.

Figure 1: Number of breaches of numerical standards

Figure 2: Overall compliance with regulatory standards

The water industry is in a period of potentially significant change - there are proposals for the restructuring of water companies and many options for further competition are being considered. This is fine, as we should always be looking at how to improve performance, reduce costs and provide a better service, but not at the cost of public health. It is no good pretending that the water service is the same as gas or electricity - it is different. Safe drinking water is probably the single most important factor in maintaining public health. It is essential that any proposal for restructuring put safety as its first consideration. Consumers will not be so grateful for a reduction in water bills if it is at the expense of their health. Another incident like Camelford would destroy confidence in drinking water and lead to public demands for more regulation.

DWI

DWI is the guardian of drinking water quality in the UK. The organisation provides scientific input to the government for future standards and manages the associated research programme. DWI was instrumental in setting up an informal network of equivalent organisations within other EU member states. This network allows experience to be shared and contributes towards a more scientific approach to standards. It also administers the expert committee on the approval of chemicals and materials for use in contact with drinking water. DWI operates on a principal of continuous improvement.

Biography

Michael Rouse CBE joined the Drinking Water Inspectorate in 1993 as chief inspector. He previously worked as managing director for the Water Research Centre in the UK, before becoming chief executive in 1984. Michael is internationally recognised for his knowledge and expertise in water supply issues. He has written and contributed to a wide range of papers and articles on water engineering and water quality. He is also a European engineer, fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, fellow of the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management, fellow and a past president of the Institution of Water Officers, and an honorary member of the American Water Works Association.