§ 34. Mr. Andrew WelshTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he expects Scottish drinking water supplies to conform with EC directives; and how much expenditure his Department is committing in the current financial year towards achieving that objective.
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonThe quality requirements of the EC drinking water directive have been incorporated into The Water Supply (Water Quality) (Scotland) Regulations 1990. Water authorities have undertaken to ensure that, within the next five years, in excess of 90 per cent. of supply zones will be receiving water which satisfies the regulations. Beyond this, improvements will continue, particularly in respect of iron through an extensive programme of replacement of old mains.
Improvements to drinking water supplies form part of the authorities' water and sewerage capital expenditure programmes and for the current financial year Scottish programme provision has been set at more than £169 million. Authorities may fund additional capital expenditure from revenue.