§ Norman BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of domestic customers she estimates have relied on lead pipes for connections to company supplies of drinking water in each year since 1992. [101676]
§ Mr. MorleyYear on year data of the numbers of lead pipe connections supplying drinking water are not available. In 1996, water companies in England and Wales estimated that some 35 per cent. of all connections had lead service pipes.
§ Norman BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what studies(a) have been conducted and (b) are planned to establish the extent of lead contamination in drinking water in (i) hard and (ii) soft water areas. [101678]
§ Mr. MorleyIt is well known that soft waters from upland areas are more likely than hard waters to dissolve lead from pipes. All water supplies must comply at consumers' taps with the regulatory standard for lead and water companies must apply additional treatment to plumbosolvent water to ensure compliance.
The Drinking Water Regulations require water companies to carry out regular monitoring to ensure that all drinking water supplies, whether hard or soft, comply with the regulatory standards. 99.37 per cent. of samples taken in 2001 met the current standard for lead in England and Wales. The Drinking Water Inspectorate has issued guidance to water companies on optimising treatment to reduce plumbosolvency, which takes into account the different characteristics of hard and soft waters.
§ Norman BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will take steps to assist householders, particularly those on a low income, who wish(a) to test their domestic drinking water systems to ensure that they are free from lead contamination and (b) to replace or repair domestic drinking water systems contaminated by lead solder. [101679]
§ Mr. MorleyWater companies will normally test water supplies, free of charge, if consumers are concerned that lead pipes might be contaminating their drinking water.
In properties built before 1970, the main reasons for lead in drinking water are lead connections to the mains and the internal plumbing.
The use of lead based solders for domestic hot and cold water systems has been banned since 1987. It is very rare for lead solder on drinking water pipes to be the sole reason for a breach of drinking water quality standards.
§ Norman BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy and effectiveness of the monitoring by local authorities of drinking water originating from private suppliers. [101694]
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§ Mr. MorleyThe Drinking Water Inspectorate carries out occasional audits of local authorities' arrangements for implementing the Private Water Supplies Regulations. 10 local authorities in England and Wales were audited in 1992 and 24 in 1993. A survey of laboratories used by local authorities for the analysis of private water supplies was carried out in 1995, and 18 were audited. Two local authorities in England and Wales were audited in 2000. These audits have shown that, in general, the local authorities were implementing the requirements of the regulations.
We are liaising with local authorities through their organisations about revised arrangements for monitoring private water supplies.