OPENING ADDRESS TO THE WATER CONTAMINATION EMERGENCIES: CAN WE COPE? INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE, 17 MARCH 2003.

R. Anderson

Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Ashdown House, 123 Victoria Street, London SWIE 6DE

1 INTRODUCTION

Looking through your agenda for the next three days and the list of delegates, I had two immediate thoughts. First, it is a real privilege to give this address. The range and depth of expertise represented here today is impressive. And, speaking personally, I must say pretty formidable. Second, the agenda and the range of expertise, brings home the complexity and numerous variety of challenges we face today.

I propose to offer a lay perspective – or, perhaps more accurately, a perspective based on a different kind of experience and responsibility. My concerns are the policies and the framework within which water supply and regulation operates in England. I hope, therefore, that you will see my presentation as contextual.

The title of this conference is Water Contamination Emergencies: Can We Cope? Our ability to cope will, in part, reflect the robustness of our day-to-day arrangements. The robustness of the basic structure for delivery of water services. And, in part, our ability to respond to the unexpected.

2 BASIC STRUCTURE

2.1 How are we doing on the basic structure?

For me, this starts with the standards to which water services are provided. We need to be confident about service levels, about monitoring arrangements, and about enforcement – where necessary. We also need to be realistic about the robustness the system to cope with potential risks.

2.2 Expectations are rightly high.

When I turn on the tap at home and fill my glass with water, I do so in the belief that it is safe to drink it. I make the same assumption here today. The consumer may not know the technical quality standard to which the water must adhere, but assumes that Government will have set out standards and processes that make it safe.

You will not need me to go into the detail of present UK standards for drinking water and for maintaining environmental quality. The key point is that they reflect current scientific advice and are, in almost all respects, common across the EU. The 1980 Drinking Water Directive introduced mandatory standards to protect public health and to ensure that water supplies were wholesome throughout the European Community. Those concerning the environment are set at a level which is proportionate to the risk of pollution posed, while being sufficiently stringent to ensure that there is no observable effect to sensitive aquatic ecosystems.

5 HORIZON SCANNING

It is not enough to rely on what we currently know, we must research and learn. And we must learn to listen. Our record in the UK in the past has not always been successful. We did not fully anticipate the threat from Cryptosporidium. BSE was equally unanticipated. In each case, I think there was a failure to scan the horizon and ask the right people the right questions.

We must engage with those at the fringes of the Department's activities, including those who might have conflicting objectives or opinions. Not just those at the heart of what we do. And not just those who agree with us. And this needs to be built into the research process.

With this in mind, my Department has now incorporated "Horizon Scanning" as a keystone of its science strategy. An open house invitation was extended to Individuals and organisations to comment on:

• Potential threats and opportunities, including socio-economic aspects;

• Vulnerabilities of sectors for which DEFRA has responsibility with a view to developing policies that reinforce resilience; and

• Novel or critical perspectives on current policies with a view to improving the robustness of the policy making process.

As a result, across the Department we are focussing on five priority themes:

• Future landscapes and the influence of land use and environmental planning;

• Environmental constraints and the impact of the reducing availability of natural resources;

• Re-thinking the food economy;

• Coping with threats – society's ability to adapt to environmental change and the impact of new diseases; and

• Meeting people's future needs.

These themes go much wider than water. But, by taking this broad interlocking approach, we seek to ensure that research on water issues is seen in a wider context.

4 RESEARCH EFFORTS

So, looking forward, where should we concentrate our research efforts? A substantial proportion of the drinking water research budget is likely to be devoted to characterising the possibility of risk amplification arising from the coincidence of different low frequency / low risk events. By way of example I will mention two areas.

One is storage of water for drinking within buildings. This might create conditions that favour the multiplication of bacterial species that would not normally present a risk via drinking water.

Another is low concentrations of disinfection by-products in water. Showering or swimming could give rise inhalation of volatile DBP and could present amplified risk at certain stages of pregnancy.

In the field of environmental water protection, the focus of current research is towards understanding and addressing challenges such as agricultural and urban diffuse pollution and climate change and towards underpinning the regulatory regimes relating, for instance, to dangerous substances.

As we learn more from...