Drinking water 2019

A report by the Chief Inspector of drinking water

The Drinking Water Inspectorate annual report Drinking water 2019 provides an overview of the quality of public and private water supplies in England and Wales. It comprises of the following:

Chief Inspector’s Letter to Ministers (for England and Wales)

The letters from the Chief Inspector to the Ministers in England and in Wales contain a high level overview of findings for the year.

Letter to Minister – England

PDF, 116KB, 4 Pages

Letter to Minister – Wales

PDF, 115KB, 3 Pages

Public water supplies

Annual Summary reports

Summary of the Chief Inspector’s report for drinking water in England

PDF, 2MB, 97 Pages

Summary of the Chief Inspector’s report for drinking water in Wales

PDF, 1MB, 51 Pages

Summary of the Chief Inspector’s report for drinking water in Wales – Welsh translation

PDF, 2MB, 52 Pages

Quarterly reports published

Quarter 1: January – March 2019

PDF, 716KB, 24 Pages

Quarter 2: April – June 2019

PDF, 1MB, 39 Pages

Quarter 3: July – September 2019

PDF, 1MB, 31 Pages

Quarter 4: October – December 2019

PDF, 984KB, 17 Pages

CRI and ERI

Compliance Risk Index and provisional Event Risk Index figures for 2019

PDF, 110KB, 1 Pages

Presentation Slides

England Presentation: 15 July 2020

PDF, 611KB, 27 Pages

Wales Presentation: 17 July 2020

PDF, 564KB

Private water supplies

Presented as separate reports for England and Wales and publishing numbers and types of supplies, a summary of monitoring results and case studies.

England

PDF, 2MB, 77 Pages

Wales

PDF, 2MB, 27 Pages

Drinking water quality events in 2019

Top 50 ERI scoring events

We have developed risk indices to allow us to target our regulatory activity, and to enable water companies to see where they need to improve. A high risk score relates to the level of risk associated with an event or a compliance breach, but does not equate to poor quality drinking water or harm to consumers. In some cases there could be a short lived impact on consumers, such as receiving discoloured water, or a taste or odour, and this is reflected in the score. However, the score also relates to how well a company manages risks, including procedures and management practices in place to prevent risks materialising into a deterioration in standards. This is a very proactive and preventative regulatory approach, where risks are managed and mitigated, before a problem occurs, to protect public supplies.

PDF, 229KB, 7 Pages

All other events

PDF, 519KB, 31 Pages

Company data

Company name	Sample Results	Company statistics and company performance data
Affinity Water	Download (PDF 108KB)	Download (PDF 13KB)
Albion Water	Download (PDF 106KB)	Download (PDF 13KB)
Albion Eco	Download (PDF 101KB)	Download (PDF 13KB)
Anglian Water	Download (PDF 80KB)	Download (PDF 13KB)
Bournemouth Water	Download (PDF 115KB)	Download (PDF 13KB)
Bristol Water	Download (PDF 124KB)	Download (PDF 13KB)
Cambridge Water	Download (PDF 149KB)	Download (PDF 13KB)
Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water	Download (PDF 117KB)	Download (PDF 88KB)
Essex and Suffolk Water	Download (PDF 118KB)	Download (PDF 13KB)
Hafren Dyfrdwy	Download (PDF 129KB)	Download (PDF 30KB)
Icosa Water	Download (PDF 90KB)	Download (PDF 13KB)
Independent Water Networks	Download (PDF 111KB)	Download (PDF 13KB)
Leep Water Utilities	Download (PDF 130KB)	Download (PDF 13KB)
Northumbrian Water	Download (PDF 118KB)	Download (PDF 13KB)
Portsmouth Water	Download (PDF 139KB)	Download (PDF 13KB)
Severn Trent Water	Download (PDF 130KB)	Download (PDF 29KB)
South East Water	Download (PDF 120KB)	Download (PDF 13KB)
South Staffordshire Water	Download (PDF 118KB)	Download (PDF 13KB)
South West Water	Download (PDF 115KB)	Download (PDF 30KB)
Southern Water	Download (PDF 129KB)	Download (PDF 13KB)
SSE Water	Download (PDF 132KB)	Download (PDF 13KB)
SES Water	Download (PDF 114KB)	Download (PDF 13KB)
Thames Water	Download (PDF 121KB)	Download (PDF 13KB)
United Utilities	Download (PDF 115KB)	Download (PDF 13KB)
Veolia Water Projects	Download (PDF 105KB)	Download (PDF 13KB)
Wessex Water	Download (PDF 143KB)	Download (PDF 13KB)
Yorkshire Water	Download (PDF 129KB)	Download (PDF 31KB)

Prosecution and Cautions