Water Services National Training Group Best Practice in the Management of Drinking Water

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Water Services National Training GroupBest
Practice in the Management of Drinking Water

• Cait Gleeson
• Senior Executive Scientist
• Limerick County Council

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Drinking Water Quality

• Old System New System
• Moving from a system that worked to one that is a
  high-tech fully controlled system delivering a
  high quality product.

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Drinking Water Quality

• We are developing control so that when a orange
  light goes off we can respond before the problem
  manifests itself in the final product.

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Our New World

• European Communities (Drinking Water )
• (No 2) Regulations 2007
• Water Quality Standards and new quality limits
  with staggered deadlines
• EPA enforcement role over Local Authorities
• Indictable offences
• Local Authority enforcement role over Group Water
  Schemes
• Monitoring Programmes

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Regulations Guidance Available

• European Communities (Quality of Surface Water
  Intended for the Abstraction of Drinking Waters)
  Regulations 1989
• European Communities (Drinking Water) (No 2)
  Regulations 2007
• Fluoridation of Water supplies Regulations 2007
• Water Services Act 2007

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Regulations Guidance Available

• Health Safety Regulations
• Nitrates Regulations 2005
• Water Pollution Acts 1977 1990

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Regulations Guidance Available

• EC Drinking Water Regulations 2000, A Handbook on
  implementation for Local Authorities
• Guidance on Regulations 9 10 of the EC (DW)
  (No2) Regulations 2007
• Annual Reporting of Monitoring Results to the EPA
  

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Regulations Guidance Available

• Guidance for Local Authorities on the Development
  of a Remedial Action List for public water
  supplies
• Guidance on risk screening for Local Authorities
• Code of Practice on Fluoridation of Drinking
  Water 2007

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Regulations Guidance Available

• EPA Drinking Water Guidance Circular
  Disinfection of Water Supplies
• EPA Advice on Lead Connections

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Regulations Guidance Available

• EPA Water Treatment Suite of Manuals
• WHO Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality
• Drinking Water Inspectorate - UK

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Routine Implementation

• Sampling programmes
• Check Monitoring
• Audit Monitoring
• Laboratories
• Local Authorities
• EPA
• Public Analyst
• Private

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Mechanics of Implementing the Regulation in the
event of a quality failure

• Failure of a chemical or microbiological
  parameter
• Detect the quality failure
• Response
• Consultation with the HSE
• Notification of the public
• Site specific issues
• Wider customer groups
• Notification of the EPA
• Return water to acceptable quality
• Incident Close Out and Review

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Typical Response quality failure

• First 30 minutes
• Verify result and sampling location
• Notify Area Manager to immediately start an
  investigation of the treatment plant and
  distribution system
• Contact the HSE and discuss the issue written
  request for advice issued.
• Decide if the seriousness of the issue merits a
  meeting with HSE

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Typical Response quality failure

• .

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Typical Response quality failure
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What Type of failures need to be notified to the
EPA
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1 If the failure was a microbiological failure
please indicate the residual chlorine levels at
the time.
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Limerick County CouncilDrinking Water Incident
Log Sheet
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Limerick County CouncilDrinking Water Incident
Log Sheet

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Limerick County CouncilDrinking Water Incident
Log Sheet
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Typical Response quality failure

• Return water to acceptable quality
• Prove that this is the case
• Agree that any health concern is over with HSE
• Review the incident and close out
• Follow up legal action against polluters if
  appropriate

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L.A. relationship with Group Water Schemes

• Monitor quality and compliance
• Ability to serve notices requiring the production
  of an Action Plan.
• Licensing not yet in force
• We currently have blunt control without a tool
  for fine control

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Changes in 2007/8 in how Local Authorities work

• Faster Response time to all parametric failures
• Initial response time in the event of a Q.F. now
  aiming for 30 minutes
• More rigorous response to quality failures
• Now investigate EVERY failure
• Example a taste incident resulted in 396 tests
  being carried out on a water supply
• Response has lead to a doubling of the throughput
  in the laboratory alone to date in 2008

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Changes in 2007/8 in how Local Authorities work

• Much more frequent communication with the HSE
• Consultation within HSE between PEHO Director
  of Public Health or their agents to arrive agree
  the health advice.

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Changes in 2007/8 in how Local Authorities work

• Upgraded treatment by installation of
• SCADA
• Alarmed Chlorine Monitors
• Alarmed Turbidity Monitors
• Improved Telemetry
• Upgrade of treatment plants WRT Safety Issues
  e.g. Site Security

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Changes in 2007/8 in how Local Authorities work

• More focused management
• Water Safety Plans
• Drinking Water Incident Response Plans
• Change of attitude second best is worse than
  nothing at all sometimes

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Changes in 2007/8 in how Local Authorities work

• More frequent communication with our customers
• How we notify customers in the event of a quality
  or supply failure
• How we provide information to customers on their
  water supply
• How customers can communicate with us
• Tracking
• Responding

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Changes in 2007/8 in how Local Authorities work

• Source Protection
• Full source protection at both ground water and
  surface water sources
• Rigorous planning controls and pollution controls
  within the zones

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Changes in 2007/8 in how Local Authorities work

• Use of non traditional staff in source protection
• Added layer of protection for sources and water
  supplies
• New layer of protection is cost neutral
• Reduces Cryptosporidium monitoring costs
• Helps focus resources

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Change of attitude

• We are moving from an attitude that there is
  nothing wrong with the water to a commitment to
  proving that there is nothing wrong with the
  water and to closing out any non conformances
  rapidly

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The professionally delivered service

• We are in the business of food production
• Issues of safety, cleanliness, raw material
  protection, product standard, customer
  protection, HACCP and overall quality control
  must meet a food production standard

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The professionally delivered service

• Customers receive our product 24 hours a day 7
  days a week.
• We work 930 to 5 Monday to Friday
• This is no longer acceptable

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The professionally delivered service

• Introducing On-call for laboratory staff and
  process technicians - initially
• Cover after hours and weekend emergencies
• Changed working hours to allow the laboratory
  achieve the work rate we need and to be able to
  respond to incidents promptly (cost neutral)
• Making better use of the resources we have
• Caretaker sampling
• Volunteer sampler groups ( Co Co staff all
  grades)
• Taxi lines

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The professionally delivered service

• Being proactive on quality
• Intensive Nitrate Surveys
• County wide Lead monitoring
• County wide THM monitoring

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The professionally delivered service

• How compliant are we 90s
• How compliant do we need to be? 99.999?
• EPA guidance!!
• 6 Sigma type approach to drinking water
  production
• reduce process variability

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The Way We Were
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The Way We Are
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(No Transcript)
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Acknowledgements

• Management Team
• Operational Maintenance Team
• Audit Team/Quality Control
• HSE
• EPA
• Customers

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Thank you