Anglian Water Services Limited – Potton Tower Inspection
Notice under regulation 28(4) of the Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations 2016 (as amended)
Reference: ANH-2025-00008
Version Number: 1
Water undertaker as appointed under section 6 of the Water Industry Act 1991 (as amended): Anglian Water Services Limited, with registered number 02366656 (hereinafter called ‘the company’).
Assets Affected:
- Potton Tower– RPTT0
Details of this Notice:
- The Drinking Water Inspectorate (‘the Inspectorate’) has received a regulation 28(1) report of the Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations 2016 (as amended) (‘the Regulations’) from the company dated 1 September 2022, which states that there is or has been a significant risk of supplying water from Potton Tower (and associated assets as applicable) that could constitute a potential danger to human health or could be unwholesome.
- Consequently, this notice is served on the company by the Inspectorate on behalf of the Secretary of State, under regulation 28(4) for the assets listed above, for risks associated with:
Description of Risk | Hazard/ Hazardous Event/ Parameter | Hazard I D |
|---|---|---|
Internal inspection/cleaning overdue | Total Coliforms | ANH-RPTT0-C001-ST0120 |
Internal inspection/cleaning overdue | E. coli (faecal coliforms Confirmed) | ANH-RPTT0-C002-ST0191 |
Internal inspection/cleaning overdue | Enterococci | ANH-RPTT0-C003-ST0210 |
- The company is required to satisfy the following requirements.
The date given is that until or by which the requirements must be maintained or satisfied, as appropriate.
Requirements:
(a) To maintain the following measures for the period specified in each case:
- Operate all tanks in accordance with current company policy, standards and procedures, that align to recognised standards of good practice.
Date: Ongoing for the duration of this Notice - Maintain enhanced (in addition to statutory sampling) sampling. This must include, as a minimum, colony counts, E. coli and coliforms at a frequency set out in the audit strategy.
Date: Ongoing for the duration of this Notice - Enhanced proactive external site inspections, grounds maintenance, site security and asset maintenance. This must include periodic inspections of hatches, seals, redundant assets, sample taps, overflows, washouts, and air valves at frequency set out in the audit strategy.
Date: Ongoing for the duration of this Notice - Maintain appropriate contingency plans (including liaison with relevant stakeholders as appropriate) to protect human health.
Date: Ongoing for the duration of this Notice - Keep under review residual chlorine concentrations to ensure appropriate set points and trigger values are in place to prevent a deterioration of drinking water quality.
Date: Ongoing for the duration of this Notice
(b) To review, revise or make operational the following measures, by the dates specified in each case:
- Complete the planned removal of Potton Tower to allow for internal inspection and the completion of any remedial works.
Date: 30 September 2025 - Complete physical internal inspection, cleaning, robust ingression testing (e.g. flood/inundation) and completion of any remedial work of Potton Tower.
Date: 30 September 2026
(c) To audit whether the measures have been effective by the following means:
- Define an audit strategy to monitor the effectiveness of the measures specified in sections (a) and (b).
Date: 30 April 2025 - Implement, and keep under continuous review, the audit strategy defined in measure (c)1.
Date: Following completion of measure (c)1. onwards.
(d) Not to supply water for regulation 4(1) purposes from Potton Tower, or not to so supply unless the specified conditions below are satisfied:
- Following inspection, the tank or reservoir will not be returned to service until all relevant issues which risk affecting water quality have been remediated.
Date: Ongoing for the duration of this Notice
(e) To provide the following information in the time and manner specified below to enable monitoring of progress towards the mitigation of the risks:
- Provide a progress report annually.
Date: by 31 January each year. - Provide report evidencing the removal of Potton Tower to allow for internal inspection and the completion of any remedial works.
Date: 31 October 2025 - Provide report evidencing completed physical internal inspection, cleaning, robust ingression testing (e.g. flood/inundation) and completion of any remedial work of Potton Tower.
Date: 31 October 2026 - Submit the audit strategy for auditing the effectiveness of the measures, as specified in measure (c)1.
Date: 31 May 2025 - Submit any revisions of the audit strategy produced under measure (c)2.
Date: Within 1 month of a revision - Submit a report in the event that any completed measures of this Notice need to be altered in any way, for any reason.
Date: Ongoing for the duration of this notice - Submit a satisfactory completion report accompanied by a revised regulation 28(1) report with Board level Director sign-off.
Date: 2 months from inspection or 12 months if remedial work required, no later than 31 October 2027
Further Details of this notice:
- Any product or substance used as a result of the requirements in this notice must comply with regulation 31.
- Under regulation 28(6) the Inspectorate, on behalf of the Secretary of State, may by notice served on the Company, revoke or vary this notice.
- Failure by the Company to comply with this notice may result in enforcement proceedings under section 18 of the Water Industry Act 1991 (as amended).
- Contravention of a regulation 28(4)(d) requirement is an offence under regulation 33(1). If guilty of such an offence, the Company is liable on summary conviction, or on conviction on indictment, to a fine. Under regulation 33(2) it is a defence for the Company to show that it took all reasonable steps and exercised all due diligence to avoid the commission of the offence.
Signed
Nicholas Adjei
Deputy Chief Inspector, on behalf of the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
24 March 2025
Reference: ANH-2025-00008 v1