Water Services National Training Group and National Federation of Group Water Schemes 7 th Annual Rural Water Services Conference 18 th September 2008

Water Services Act 2007 The New Regulatory Eenvironment Pat Keane Assistant Principal Officer DEHLG

Life before the Water Services Act 2007  Drinking Water Regulations 2000 (S.I. No. 439 of 2000) – revoked in 2007  Drinking Water Regulations 2007(S.I. No. 278 of 2007)  local authority now subject to supervision  new powers of intervention  obligations to inform; keep records etc  increased penalties

Regulations will remain WATER QUALITY STANDARDS SET IN REGULATIONS WILL REMAIN THE CENTRAL REFERENCE POINT

Water Services Act 2007 WSA Operational Powers  Power to -  install pipes across neighbouring land (S.42)  require “through connections” to its services (S.92)  acquire land, waterworks, etc. (S.93)  run pipes through land (S.97)  acquire waterworks and waste water works by agreement where 2/3 of ownership agrees (S.95)

WSA Takeover Powers  WSA power to take “orphan schemes” in charge (S.95)  WSA power to take over management and operation of a scheme on a temporary basis (S.91)

Other Operational Provisions  all water services providers given power to install pipes under roads, subject to the consent of the road authority (S.41)  temporary interruption of services subject to providing alternative domestic drinking water supplies after 24 hours (S.51)

Obligations on the Public  unauthorised connection to services is an offence (S.55/61)  water: duty to maintain water distribution system in premises leak-free and free of health risk (S.54)  waste water: duty of care to avoid nuisance, risk to human health or the environment from sewage (S.70)  offence to damage pipes (S.45)

Water Conservation (S.56)  WSA power to restrict excessive use of water in a premises (including to cut off the supply)  WSA power to introduce hosepipe bans, with on-the-spot fines

Metering (Part 5)  general authority to provide water services through meters  offence to tamper with a meter

Licensing (Part 6)  each WSA responsible for private water services in its area (S.78)  services providers other than WSA must be licensed - by WSA (S.79)  power to determine that an activity is licensable (S.80)

Licensing – WHY?  What to do versus How to do it  Mechanism for detailed, systematic asessment of strengths and weaknesses  Increased stability for the Group Water Scheme sector  Reassurance

Timescale for the introduction of licensing  Guidance will be published shortly  Training will be provided over Q4 2008/Q  Licensing will be phased in over the following 24 months (priority based on criteria such as scheme size and past compliance history)

Water Services Act 2007 The New Regulatory Eenvironment Pat Keane Assistant Principal Officer DEHLG

Water Services National Training Group and National Federation of Group Water Schemes 7 th Annual Rural Water Services Conference 18 th September 2008