Public Water Supplies

Northern Ireland Water, the public water supplier in Northern Ireland, is responsible for implementing the Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2007/147 (as amended by SR 246 on 15 July 2009 and SR 128 on 20 April 2010).

The Inspectorate's duties in implementing its responsibilities under the Regulations are mainly carried out by an ongoing programme of technical audit. The technical audit process is an annual assessment, which includes the following core tasks:

• the transfer of information from Northern Ireland Water on the quality of water at water treatment works, service reservoirs and water supply zones
• assessing whether water meets necessary standards
• carrying out an inspection programme which examines the sampling, analytical and reporting procedures
• assessing whether satisfactory practices and processes are in place for water treatment and distribution

The Inspectorate also investigates incidences where drinking water quality has been breached or compromised.