Sutton and East Surrey Water

Drinking water in England and Wales is of a very high quality.

Our laboratory carries out approximately 116,000 tests on 14,000 samples taken throughout the year from our water sources, treatment works, storage reservoirs and randomly selected consumers' taps, to continually monitor the water quality.

The laboratory holds UKAS Accreditation, an internationally recognised quality standard, covering all aspects of its work, from sampling through analysis to reporting of results.

The Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) is the government body that checks that water companies supply water that is safe to drink when it reaches your home. The DWI carry out annual inspections of water companies and assess the results of our laboratory tests against water quality standards.

In 2009, 99.93% of the tests undertaken by the Company met the standards set in the Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations 2000 for substances with prescribed limits. A measure called "Overall Drinking Water Quality" is based on the results for 39 of the substances we monitor, and is a measure used by the DWI to compare water companies. Our overall drinking water quality index for 2009 was 99.92%. Further details of our water quality monitoring in 2009 can be found in our annual summary report on water quality (pdf).

The Chief Inspector of the DWI also publishes an annual report, and this includes summary statistics for each company in England, and summaries of water quality by region. An overview is included of events and incidents notified by the water companies to DWI, and a summary of the types of contacts we have with our customers in respect of water quality. DWI reports are available on the DWI web site - http://www.dwi.gov.uk/.

 

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