§ Mr. Deakinsasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will seek powers to enable him to ensure that firms discharging waste products into rivers or sewers notify river or sewerage authorities of all chemicals and other noxious substances likely to be present in such waste products so that appropriate action can be taken by the authorities concerned to prevent such chemicals and substances passing into the public water supply.
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§ Mr. Peter WalkerRiver authorities already have power to control the nature and composition of discharges to streams, whether direct from factories or from local authority sewage works. In some cases when the toxicity of the discharge is difficult to assess by ordinary analysis, river authorities use a standard fish toxicity test. The control of discharges and the treatment given to raw water by statutory water undertakers ensure the safety of public water supplies.