Public Water Supplies
Northern Ireland Water, the public water supplier in Northern Ireland, is responsible for implementing the requirements of the Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2007. The Inspectorate has an independent responsibility to assess and regulate compliance against the regulatory standards.
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 NI Water on the quality of water at water treatment works, service reservoirs and water supply zones
- A compliance assessment of this information against the regulatory standards
- Carrying out an inspection programme which examines the sampling, analytical and reporting procedures
- Assessing if 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.
