§ Mr. WilshireTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the drinking water pollution episode that took place at the Egham works of the North Surrey Water Company on 26 December 1990, setting out(a) what took place, (b) who was notified and when, (c) the criteria by which it was decided that no public warning should be issued, (d) whether any adverse effects on the health of the company's customers was recorded and (e) what steps have been taken to ensure that there will not be a similar delay in notifying the public of such an event in future.
§ Mr. BaldryThe incident occurred on 26 and 27 December 1990. It was caused by the failure of the automatic changeover system when a chlorine drum was exhausted.
The drinking water inspectorate has investigated the incident and will report shortly, dealing inter alia with the matters raised by my hon. Friend. We shall then decide what further action is needed. At that stage I shall write to my hon. Friend with any further information I can provide.