DWI Information Letter 5/96 - Inclusion of Total Hardness and Alkalinity

Data in Annual Summary Compliance Statistics: Chief Inspector's

Reports and Regulation 31 Reports.
Department of the Environment, Welsh Office
DRINKING WATER INSPECTORATE
Room B148B
Romney Hous
43 Marsham Street
London SW1P 3PY
Direct Line : 0171-276 8213
Enquiries : 0171-276 8808/8666
Facsimile : 0171-276 8405

11 April 1996
To: Board level contacts of Water and Sewerage Companies and Water Companies in England and
Wales
Dear Sir

Introduction
The Chief Inspector wrote to all companies between August and October 1995 regarding the "Provision
of Information: Annual compliance returns and regulation 31 reports". In those letters advice was given
inter alia about the reporting of results of monitoring for total hardness and alkalinity. The purpose of
the advice was to ensure consistency of numbers of samples reported in companies' regulation 31 reports
and the statistics which appear in the Chief Inspector's Annual Reports.

Purpose
The purpose of this letter is to advise companies of a change to the advice given previously but still with
the objective of ensuring consistency of reporting.

Consideration
Each 1995 letter reminded companies that only samples for parameters with a numerical PCV should be
included in the summary statistics for regulation 31 reports, in line with the practice adopted for the
tables in the Chief Inspector's Annual Reports. As the PCVs for total hardness and alkalinity apply only
for artificially softened supplies, the letter advised companies to include total hardness and alkalinity
results only for such supplies.
The regulations require companies to monitor for total hardness and alkalinity in each zone irrespective
of whether the water supply is artificially softened. The Inspectorate does not receive information from
companies within compliance returns on when water supplied is softened. It therefore has not been
possible for the Inspectorate to determine in which cases the PCVs for total hardness and alkalinity apply
and thus which sample results should be included in summary statistics in the Chief Inspector's Annual
Reports.

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Advice
For the purposes of the Chief Inspector's Annual Report "Drinking Water 1995", and in subsequent
reports, the Inspectorate will include in summary statistics all samples taken for total hardness and
alkalinity when determining the total number of samples taken, irrespective of whether the PCVs apply
or not. Where companies take samples for total hardness and alkalinity even though those water supplies
may not be softened, companies should inlcude such results in their summary statistics for regulation 31
reports to ensure consistency with the numbers of samples reported in the Chief Inspector's Annual
Reports.
When reporting results breaching the PCVs for total hardness and alkalinity, only those results
appertaining to artificially softened supplies should be considered. Results below the numerical PCVs
obtained from samples of water which was not artificially softened, should not be entered as breaching
the PCVs. In Regulation 31 reports companies should (within schedule 5) only flag recorded values for
total hardness and alkalinity as contraventions of their respective PCV in situations where the PCV
applies in order to be consistent with the results to be reported in Table 3 of the Company sections of
Chapter 3 of "Drinking Water 1995".

Enquiries
Enquiries about this letter should be directed to Dr K J White, Inspector, Room B153A Romney House
(0171 276 8660) or myself.
Copies of this letter are being sent for information to the Secretaries of the Water Services Association
and the Water Companies' Association; Dr N Williams, Water Supply and Regulation Division,
Department of the Environment, Mr R D Macey, Welsh Office and Mr T Hooton, Scottish Office.
Please acknowledge receipt of this letter using the attached proforma.
Yours sincerely,
OWEN D HYDES
Deputy Chief Inspector

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