EU Drinking Water Regulations: Implications for Public Health

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EU Drinking Water Regulations Implications for
Public Health

• Dr BethAnn Roch
• Consultant in Public Health Medicine
• HSE-South (SE)

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Overview

• Background
• Legislation
• Drinking water
• Infectious disease
• Other - Food safety, Fluoridation
• Current procedures
• Key documents
• Committees
• Main changes

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Background

• 1000 public water supplies
• 5000 group water schemes
• 100,000 200,000 private wells
• 85 surface water
• Increasing demand and profile
• EPA Annual Drinking Water Report

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Water Services Act 2007

• protection of human health
• protection of public health
• public authority includes Health Service
  Executive
• water services authority replaces sanitary
  authority

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Drinking Water RegulationsS.I. No. 278 of 2007

• Protection of human health
• Para 9 (1) Where a sanitary authority, in
  consultation with the HSE, considers that a
  supply of water intended for human consumption
  constitutes a potential danger to human health,
  the authority shall, subject to agreement with
  the HSE, ensure that ..
• Para 9 (2) . Subject to agreement with the HSE
  the supervisory authority shall issue such
  direction to the relevant water supplier as it
  considers necessary.

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Drinking Water Regulations S.I. No. 278 of 2007

• Departures from standards
• Para 11 (1) A departure from the parametric
  values. may . subject to the agreement of the
  HSE, be granted by the Agency
• Confirmed in writing by the Medical Officer of
  Health (EPA Handbook)

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Infectious Disease RegulationsS.I. No. 390 of
1981

• Para 11 On becoming aware of a case or a
  suspected case of an infectious disease or of a
  probable source of infection with such disease, a
  medical officer of health shall make such
  enquiries and take such steps as are necessary
  for investigating the nature and source of
  infection, for preventing the spread of such
  infection and for removing conditions favourable
  to such infection

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Other legislation

• Food safety
• Food Hygiene Regulation S.I. No. 205 of 1950
• EC Regulation No 852/2004
• hygiene of foodstuffs
• requires the use of potable water in connection
  with the food business
• S.I. No. 369 of 2006 gives effect in Irish law
• Fluoridation Regulations S.I. No. 42 of 2007

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Current Procedures

• Water Liaison Group
• Protocol/Guidelines
• Water monitoring programme
• Surveillance of notifiable diseases
• Incident Response Team
• Water monitoring results
• Acute incident
• Increase/outbreak of human illness

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• NDSC (2004) Report of the Waterborne
  Cryptosporidiosis Subcommittee of the Scientific
  Advisory Committee
• WHO (2004) Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality,
  3rd Edition

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EPA Office of Environmental Enforcement

• Drinking Water Regulations Guidance Booklet No 1.
  Guidance for local authorities on Regulation 9
  and Regulation 10 of the European Communities
  (Drinking Water)(No.2) Regulations 2007 S.I. No
  278 of 2007). November 2007.
• European Communities (Drinking Water) Regulations
  2000 (S.I. 439 of 2000). A Handbook on
  Implementation for Sanitary Authorities. 2004
• www.epa.ie

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Dept of Environment, Heritage and Local Government

• National Drinking Water Regulations
  Implementation Group
• HSE represented
• Booklets 1-4
• Handbook
• Database
• Water Services National Training Group
• Drinking Water Incident Management
• HSE represented

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Environmental Protection Agency

• Cryptosporidium Working Group
• Chair local authority
• HSE Public Health and Environmental Health
  Officers
• Subgroups
• Risk assessment
• Monitoring
• Laboratories
• Outbreak/Incident
• EPA Cryptosporidium network

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HSE Population Health Water Group

• Harmonise procedures and practices
• Update guidance
• Revisit advice to immunocompromised
• Review advice in microbiological incidents where
  there is no evidence of human illness
• Identify training needs

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Key changes

• Supervisory role for EPA and local authorities
• Increased workload - EPA expect 600
  notifications/year
• Resource issues
• Training needs