Minister welcomes Drinking Water Quality Report

31 July 2014 16:18

Regional Development Minister Danny Kennedy, welcomed the ‘Drinking Water Quality in Northern Ireland, 2013’ report, published today by the Drinking Water Inspectorate.

The report found that the quality of public drinking water supplies here, remains high, with overall compliance for samples taken from water treatment works, service reservoirs and consumers’ taps at 99.81%.

Speaking after the publication of the report, Danny Kennedy said: “The Drinking Water Inspectorate’s latest report confirms the high quality of our public drinking water supply which has to meet strict regulatory standards. Investment has led to upgrades of water treatment facilities across Northern Ireland, enabling high quality water to continue to be provided. We need to continue investing to keep standards high by making further improvements in our infrastructure.”

Notwithstanding the high quality of water recorded this year, the report states that vigilance is required, and that good operational practice and management should be applied at every stage in water supply to ensure that NI Water continues to provide safe, clean, drinking water. The report also highlights the need for targeted ongoing investment in infrastructure to ensure that overall compliance is maintained and quality further improved to safeguard our high quality drinking water.

Commenting on this, the Minister said: “NI Water’s ongoing investment programme which focuses on continuing to improve drinking water quality, will see further upgrades to its water treatment works and distribution systems. I welcome the improvement this will bring for the overall health and wellbeing of the Northern Ireland consumer, by providing safe, clean drinking water.”

The report will be published as a PDF file on the Inspectorate’s website: http://www.doeni.gov.uk/niea/water-home/drinking_water/annual_reports.htm