Water Quality and Standards

3.4 The costs of improving drinking water quality

The estimated costs (in £m) of the investments to comply with the Drinking Water Directive(s), and the Cryptosporidium Direction are:

In the subsequent period there will be a need for substantial further investment in water quality. This is expected to amount to some £600 million over the next 10 years.

The estimated capital cost (in £m) of the investments to deal with asset maintenance and service provision are:

3.5Drinking water investment: Benefits + Uncertainties

Benefits Drinking water quality in Scotland is presently of a high standard but still does not fully meet the requirements of the Directive However, the quality is set to get higher with among other things, the reduction in lead content, and replacing/relining the pipework reducing the amount of iron and/or manganese in the water. The cryptosporidium Direction will bring greater assurance of the safety of the public drinking water supply.

Investment in asset maintenance ensures a constant supply of water at an acceptable pressure throughout the network and securing of new developments helps facilitate economic development. Inparticular,

• The lead monitoring protocol has yet to be agreed and may lead to increased monitoring which, in turn, may result in increased capitol and/or operating expenditure.
• The extent and cost of replacing lead communication pipes is uncertain.
• Discussions continue between water authorities and the Scottish Executive to finalise the extent and timing of investment to satisfy the Drinking Water Directive over the medium term

Uncertainties The broad measures required to comply with the new Drinking Water Directive are clear, but there remain some uncertainties in relation to the costs of compliance. In particular,

• the lead monitoring protocol has yet to be agreed and may lead to increased monitoring which, in turn, may result in increased capital and/or operating expenditure.
• The extent and cost of replacing lead communication pipes is uncertain.

Discussions continue between water authorities and the Scottish Executive to finalise the extent and timing of investment to satisfy the Drinking Water Directive over the medium term.

The need for enhancements to the system due to local development is guided by planning authorities but very much dictated by commercial developers. It can therefore be difficult to predict, with proposals coming forward within very short timescales. These needs may require some re-phasing of investment programmes. The extent and timing of works for future developments for housing and industry is based on past trends which may or may not be accurate.

Because of the limited knowledge of their pipe networks, the water authorities are still uncertain of the investment needed to bring the overall asset base up to acceptable standards. Work to improve this knowledge will be well advanced in the next two years and the possibility of significant additional investment requirements cannot be excluded.