§ Mr. SalmondTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what are the additions or reductions of each of the chemical constituents of water and their percentages to or from the existing supplies in the areas served by each of the water authorities in Scotland which are required in order to meet the new EC water standards; and if he will provide a breakdown by(a) chemical constituent of water, (b) each water authority and (c) each supply point;
(2) what changes to the chemical analysis of water are envisaged as a consequence of implementing new EC water standards compared with the existing chemical analysis employed by Scottish water authorities; and if he will make a statement.
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§ Sir Hector Monro[holding answer 14 December 1992]: There are no new EC water standards. The EC drinking water directive (80/778/EEC) of July 1980 came into force in July 1985. The Water Supply (Water Quality) (Scotland) Regulations 1990 adopted the standards set in the directive, together with a number of additional national standards on quality.
There are over 700 water supply zones in Scotland taking water from more than 800 different surface and groundwater sources. The raw water quality varies with location and time of year. The water treatment carried out to meet the requirements of the regulations is equally varied. Water quality information is available from authorities' public registers and this is summarised in their annual reports. The Scottish Office publishes an annual overview of water quality in Scotland. The last, "Drinking Water Quality in Scotland 1990", is in the Library and a more detailed report for 1991 will be published shortly.