Demand on water plants: a combination of obsolescence and excessive demand necessitates capital expenditure on a lot of existing plants, or provision of new facilities.
Chlorination: stricter control of all existing chlorination facilities is necessary to bring about substantial improvement in drinking water quality by guaranteeing the absence of undesirable bacteria, and yet ensuring not too much chlorine is added to supplies.
Excessive application of chlorine: adding too much chlorine in treating water is resulting in bad odours and tastes, and may result or exacerbate levels of trihalomethane incidence, which is of increasing concern to EU regulators on public health grounds. Also, their presence may be indicative of other contaminants.
Nitrates: where persistently high nitrate levels are found in supplies - which could be indicative of sewage contamination - finding alternative sources may be the only practical means of resolving quality problems.
Poor location of infrastructure: frequently, cases of bacterial contamination are arising from incorrect siting of silage and slurry pits in relation to water sources.
Pollution indicator: most pollution in small supplies is indicated by the presence of coliform bacteria. If it persists, consumers must boil water and let it cool, preferably in a closed container, before consuming it. It may not be as palatable as fresh, clean spring water but it is at least safe.
EU drinking water directive: sanitary authorities have a major task on their hands in fulfilling the requirements of the directive. It will require improvements and rationalisations both in the production of potable water supplies and in assessment of quality.
Risk assessment: sanitary authorities should carry out a risk assessment on all groundwater sources used for public water supplies. Those close to industrial estates should be given priority. Unchlorinated water should be tested regularly for bacteriological quality.