Big question

BQ4 - How do we achieve 100% compliance with drinking water standards (at point of use) by 2050?

Route
map
Case
Studies

 

Drinking water quality is of key importance to public health, and the provision of safe drinking water has been recognised as one of the greatest technological and public health advances of the last century. The current system of delivering safe water to consumers in the UK is based upon significant investment in infrastructure and performs at an excellent standard at a very low cost. However, the future challenges of climate change, energy efficiency, population growth, and an aging infrastructure mean that the traditional ways of providing safe water may need to change.

If we want to achieve 100% compliance with drinking water standards (at point of use) by 2050 we need considerable research and development in this area. We have created a strategic research programme help us achieve this.

To support the development of this programme a report was commissioned to identify the prioritised research needs. Each drinking water contaminant or issue was allocated a score for knowledge and risk to drinking water quality, based on literature reviews and workshop discussions. This process enabled contaminants that had research gaps, but which contributed a low risk, to be removed as a research need at this time.

Once we understood our research needs, we produced a route map – this is a plan as to how we will answer our Big Question.

This is described below, and you can download the whole thing as a PDF below. It is important to know that the route map may change as the programme develops.

RESEARCH Outcomes







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Projects


 

BQ - Achieving 100% compliance with drinking water standards at point of use by 2050? Taste and Odour: Methods of Detection.

Project Status - Project Completed

No Further Information Available.


 

Water Quality Events Database - continuation of service.

Project Status - Project Commenced


 

BQ How do we achieve 100% compliance with drinking water standards by 2050? Risk assessment of CIP data with respect to implications for drinking water sources.

Project Status - Project Completed

To determine whether any emerging contaminants, measured through the Chemical Investigation Programme, pose a potential risk to the quality of drinking water supplies.

Problem

The Chemical Investigation Programme (CIP) Phase 1 &2 has monitored a large number of chemicals that may be entering the aquatic environment from our wastewater treatment processes.  This data, however, has not been looked at in terms of the potential impacts on drinking water quality.

Impact

We currently do not know the impact that these chemicals have on raw water quality for sources located downstream of a waste water treatment works.

Project

This project is an enabler for future work to meet the outcome “An appropriate balance of risk with regards to substances of concern, their public health impact, and mitigation”. It is the first project in a series that will allow the Industry to demonstrate to its customers and other stakeholders, including regulators, that it keeps the upstream risks it faces under review as data becomes available.  Subsequent projects will look in more detail on issues such as treatability i.e. determine if the disinfection process for water containing these chemicals give rise to unwanted by-products of health concern or cause taste and odour issues.


 

BQ4-B03b Controlling water chemistry to improve drinking water quality and minimising brominated disinfection by-products .

Project Status - Project Commenced


 

Understanding DBP formation: Interpretation of laboratory experiments to operational conditions.

Project Status - Project Completed

Category - Drinking Water Quality & Health

No Further Information Available.


 

BQ - Achieving 100% compliance with drinking water standards at point of use by 2050? Protecting water quality in the home (domestic fixtures & fittings).

Project Status - Project Completed


 

BQ How do we achieve 100% compliance with drinking water standards by 2050? Better understanding of the chemistry of the control of lead.

Project Status - Project Completed

This project will address key issues in order to meet the outcome “Ownership and responsibility for water quality is clear and all part their part in its protection”. The project will improve our understanding of the complex chemistry which underlies the control of lead solubility.  Recent developments in analytical instrumentation open up a number of avenues to enhance the industry's understanding of the surface chemistry which facilitates compliance or causes failure.


 

Developing a testing standard for nickel plated water fittings (BQ4-C3a).

Project Status - Project Commenced


 

BQ04-D04-Achieving biologically stable / low AOC water in the UK.

Project Status - Project Commenced


 

Prevalence of viruses and somatic coliphage in UK waters - method development and data gathering (BQ4-D1).

Project Status - Project Commenced


 

Real time monitoring of bacteria downstream of WTWs.

Project Status - Project Completed

Category - Drinking Water Quality & Health

No Further Information Available.


 

BQ - Achieving 100% compliance with drinking water standards at point of use by 2050? - Phase 2 - Intensifying Natural Processes.

Project Status - Project Completed

Category - Drinking Water Quality & Health

No Further Information Available.


 

Maximising the safe return of recovered process water (BQ4-E4).

Project Status - Project Completed

If we are to halve our abstractions by 2050 water treatment plant efficiencies will need to be improved. At present industry best practice dictates that wash water return flow is maintained at less than 10 % by volume and with a turbidity of less than 10 NTU. However, with the improved treatment technology over the past two decades are these limits still a reflection of the risk of cryptosporidium oocyst breakthrough or can these limits be risk based on treatment technologies and incoming water quality. 



RESEARCH IMPACT - CASE STUDIES