§ Mr. Alex CarlileTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on water quality in Wales.
§ Mr. Gwilym JonesThe National Rivers Authority's 1990 survey of river quality shows that 94 per cent. of river lengths in its Welsh region are of good or fair quality. A total of 90 per cent. of the 50 bathing waters on the Welsh coastline identified under the EC directive met its stringent mandatory standards for total coliforms and faecal coliforms last year. As regards drinking water quality, the first annual report of the drinking water inspectorate published last year confirms that of the tests of water quality carried out in 1990 by Dwr Cymru Cyf, 99 per cent. complied with the rigorous statutory standards set in the Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations 1989, SI 1989 No. 1147. Meanwhile, Dwr Cymru is continuing with the implementation of its 10-year, £1.8 billion capital investment programme aimed at achieving further improvement to the standards of drinking water, river and coastal water quality.