Drinking Water: Future Quality Requirements
In: Water and environment journal, Band 7, Heft 5, S. 532-536
ISSN: 1747-6593
AbstractRegulations governing the quality of drinking water within the European Community must be based on Directive 80/778/EC, although Member States may impose tighter or additional limits if they so wish. The Directive is substantially derived from standards set by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 1970. Revised 'Guidelines Values'for water contaminants were issued by WHO in 1984, and a further revision will be published in 1993. Modest changes in the guidelines set by WHO for microbiological parameters since 1970 have been accompanied by a large increase in the number of limits set for chemical parameters. This is particularly marked for organic compounds including pesticides and disinfection byproducts. The new WHO guidelines will inevitably have an impact on water supplies in the UK, but the timescale for a significant change in the outmoded EC Directive is uncertain.