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The Draft Private Water Supplies
(Scotland) Regulations 2005 and Proposals for a Private
Water Supplies Grant Scheme: A Consultation
Chapter 2 Background and previous
consultation
Private water supplies are currently regulated
by the Private Water Supplies (Scotland)
Regulations 1992 (as amended). These Regulations
give local authorities powers to monitor and
improve the quality of private water supplies but
in a relatively informal way. They leave
considerable discretion to local authorities to
develop and tailor policies to their specific
priorities and circumstances. This approach matched
the widely cast remit of the previous Drinking
Water Directive, which was defined simply as
"concerned with standards for water intended
for human consumption". The Water (Scotland)
Act 1980 makes further requirements regarding
private water supplies in Scotland.
The revised Drinking Water Directive takes a
more focussed approach, stating in Article 1:
"The objective of this Directive shall be
to protect human health from the adverse
effects of any contamination of water intended
for human consumption by ensuring that it is
wholesome and clean".
This means that the informal approach of the
1992 Regulations which simply encouraged 'relevant
persons' to maintain and improve supplies is no
longer adequate. Member States are now required to
take formal action to ensure that water quality
standards meet the stringent requirements of the
revised Directive.
As already mentioned, two other factors have
driven the development of the draft Regulations:
the World Health Organisation's revised guidelines
on drinking water quality
1, and the Scottish
E.coli 0157 Task Force Report
2. Both include significant recommendations for
private water supplies which are taken forward in
the draft Regulations.
The draft Regulations are also the outcome of
extensive consultation with stakeholders. In
November 2001, Ross Finnie, Minister for
Environment and Rural Development, published a wide
ranging consultation,
Private Water Supply Regulation3, seeking views on a variety of options
for implementing the Drinking Water Directive and
setting new national standards for private water
supplies.
That consultation took place from November 2001
to February 2002, and over 500 consultation papers
were distributed directly to MSPs, Scottish MPs,
Scottish MEPs, local authorities, NHS Health
Boards, academic and professional institutes and a
variety of rural, farming and business
organisations. It was also available on the
Scottish Executive's web site.
The 82 consultation responses confirmed that
there was general support for the improvement of
the regulatory framework for private water supplies
in Scotland. Some reservations were expressed about
operational details and costs, and there were
requests for clarification of some of the terms
used. A Response to Consultation
4 was published in 2002 and included a
commitment to address the issues raised through the
consultation. These are taken forward in this
paper.
Other UK Administrations are taking a similar
approach to implement the Drinking Water Directive,
including the introduction of risk assessments.
Their consultations are expected to issue later
this year.
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