Bournemouth and West Hampshire Water Plc supplies water to about 400,000 consumers in parts of Dorset, Hampshire and Wiltshire. The volume of water supplied increases substantially during the summer months with the influx of visitors to the area. Almost four fifths of the Company's water supplies come from the Rivers Stour and Avon. The remainder comes from boreholes. The Company operates treatment works at six sites and distributes water through a network of 2,800 km of pipes and 22 service reservoirs.


Each year water companies are inspected. The 1995 inspection found that the Company's arrangements for sampling, analysis and reporting, and treatment processes were generally satisfactory. Progress with improvement programmes for the removal of pesticides was behind schedule but the Company is still expected to be able to complete work by the due date. Forty-three recommendations for improvements in practices were made.


The quality of the water supplied by the Company in 1995 has been generally very good. 99.7% of the 21,285 tests performed by the Company met the standards - the tests were largely made on samples taken from consumers' taps. Of the 0.3% of tests that did not meet the standards some were for coliform bacteria. Each time these bacteria were detected the cause was investigated and any problems identified were corrected. The only other significant failures to meet the standards were for pesticides, and PAH. For each of these substances the Company is carrying out an improvement programme.


The graph above shows the continued good water quality over the past five years. The Company, as it must, plans to improve the quality even further. It has given legally binding commitments to take steps to remove pesticides and improve its water mains. Traces of pesticides can enter water sources and the Company is installing treatment to remove them. PAH arises from old water mains and the Company is replacing or repairing these. The improvements for pesticides will be complete by December 1996, but the work on the water mains to deal with PAH will extend beyond this date.


If you want more detailed information about the quality of drinking water in your local area please contact the Company. Their telephone number is 01202 591111.

     


The Drinking Water Inspectorate checks that your drinking water is properly tested and that action is taken to put right breaches of standards. The results of the tests given overleaf have been carefully audited and give an accurate picture of the quality of water supplied by the company.

Drinking water standards in England and Wales include all those in the European Community Directive on drinking water and are mainly based on levels recommended by the World Health Organisation. Those of significance to health have generally been set with a wide safety margin. The occasional breaches of the standards which have happened do not mean the water was not suitable for drinking.

The Inspectorate assesses each breach of the standards and if necessary requires water companies to give legally binding undertakings to carry out improvements.

The summary of the 1995 Report gives the results of tests for England and Wales as a whole and sets out in more detail how the quality of your drinking water is checked and the significance of each of the listed substances. Printed copies of each Water Company Summary, and the Summary of the 1995 Report are available from :

The Drinking Water Inspectorate
Room B155
Romney House
43 Marsham Street
London SW1P 3PY

Telephone: 0171 276 8808/8666

     
We welcome your comments on this site.
Reviewed 1 October 1996