Parliamentary Questions - Written Replies

Water quality: Regulation lead levels in drinking water were exceeded in at least one sample taken during 1991 from each of 941 water supply zones in England and Wales, David Maclean, the Environment Minister, said. In 1991, about 77,000 samples from 2,565 zones were analysed for lead of which 3.7 per cent contained more than the limit.

Mr Maclean told Simon Hughes (Lib Dem, Southwark and Bermondsey) that in each zone where there was a risk of the water exceeding the lead standard because of lead dissolved from consumers' pipes, companies were evaluating and, where appropriate, installing treatment to reduce the plumbosolvency of the water.