DWI calls Water UK claims ‘disingenuous’

The chief inspector of drinking water has accused Water UK of sending muddled messages and making"disingenuous" claims about the sector's work on water quality.

In its annual sustainability report for 2010/11, Water UK said there was a tension between the “questionable environmental and health benefits” of raising water quality standards and the costs of treatment processes.
Professor Jeni Colbourne, who heads the Drinking Water Inspectorate, said Water UK was muddling environmental and health issues. “The statement that there are increasing water quality standards is not correct,” she said. “It is a little frustrating that they made that sweeping statement, because a lot of work has gone on to create flexible regulation.”
Sarah Mukherjee, head of environment at Water UK, dismissed Colbourne’s comments and said the report was referring to wastewater treatment.
Colbourne also questioned Water UK’s assertion that the industry was “working closely with quality regulators to seek alternative ways of meeting standards without increasing energy use”.
The DWI had done the work to allow companies to trial catchment management schemes and fail some standards in the short term where there was no health risk, she said. This let firms avoid more costly end-of-pipe measures.
Water UK’s report noted the sector’s greenhouse gas emissions in 2010/11 were higher than the previous year, despite efforts to keep energy use in check.
The lobby group called for clarity on renewable energy policy, after changes to the CRC and FITs, to help water companies make investment decisions.

by Megan Darby

This article first appeared in Utility Week’s print edition of 13 January 2012.
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