- Latest available (Revised)
- Original (As adopted by EU)
Council Directive 98/83/EC of 3 November 1998 on the quality of water intended for human consumption
When the UK left the EU, legislation.gov.uk published EU legislation that had been published by the EU up to IP completion day (31 December 2020 11.00 p.m.). On legislation.gov.uk, these items of legislation are kept up-to-date with any amendments made by the UK since then.
Legislation.gov.uk publishes the UK version. EUR-Lex publishes the EU version. The EU Exit Web Archive holds a snapshot of EUR-Lex’s version from IP completion day (31 December 2020 11.00 p.m.).
EU Directives are published on this site to aid cross referencing from UK legislation. Since IP completion day (31 December 2020 11.00 p.m.) no amendments have been applied to this version.
Textual Amendments
verify that the measures in place to control risks to human health throughout the water supply chain from the catchment area through abstraction, treatment and storage to distribution are working effectively and that water at the point of compliance is wholesome and clean;
provide information on the quality of the water supplied for human consumption to demonstrate that the obligations set out in Articles 4 and 5, and the parametric values laid down in Annex I, are being met;
identify the most appropriate means of mitigating the risk to human health.
collection and analysis of discrete water samples; or
measurements recorded by a continuous monitoring process.
In addition, monitoring programmes may consist of:
inspections of records of the functionality and maintenance status of equipment; and/or
inspections of the catchment area, water abstraction, treatment, storage and distribution infrastructure.
A monitoring programme must take into account the parameters referred to in Article 5, including those that are important for assessing the impact of domestic distribution systems on the quality of water at the point of compliance, as set out in Article 6(1). When choosing appropriate parameters for monitoring, local conditions for each water supply system must be taken into consideration.
Member States shall ensure that the parameters listed in point 2 are monitored at the relevant sampling frequencies as set out in point 3.
The following parameters (Group A) shall be monitored in accordance with the monitoring frequencies set out in Table 1 of point 3:
Escherichia coli ( E. coli ), coliform bacteria, colony count 22 °C, colour, turbidity, taste, odour, pH, conductivity;
other parameters identified as relevant in the monitoring programme, in accordance with Article 5(3) and, where relevant, through a risk assessment as set out in Part C.
Under specific circumstances, the following parameters shall be added to the Group A Parameters:
ammonium and nitrite, if chloramination is used;
aluminium and iron, if used as water treatment chemicals.
In order to determine compliance with all parametric values set out in this Directive, all other parameters not analysed under Group A and set in accordance with Article 5 shall be monitored at least at the frequencies set out in Table 1 of point 3.
Minimum frequency of sampling and analysis for compliance monitoring
Volume of water distributed or produced each day within a supply zone (See Notes 1 and 2) m 3 | Group A parameter number of samples per year (See Note 3) | Group B parameter number of samples per year | |
---|---|---|---|
≤ 100 | > 0 (See Note 4) | > 0 (See Note 4) | |
> 100 | ≤ 1 000 | 4 | 1 |
> 1 000 | ≤ 10 000 | 4 + 3 for each 1 000 m 3 /d and part thereof of the total volume | 1 + 1 for each 4 500 m 3 /d and part thereof of the total volume |
> 10 000 | ≤ 100 000 | 3 + 1 for each 10 000 m 3 /d and part thereof of the total volume | |
> 100 000 | 12 + 1 for each 25 000 m 3 /d and part thereof of the total volume |
the list of parameters or frequencies set out in this Annex is not sufficient to fulfil the obligations imposed under Article 7(1);
additional monitoring is required for the purposes of Article 7(6);
it is necessary to provide the necessary assurances set out in point (1)(a) of Part A.
the frequency of sampling for E. coli must not be reduced below the one laid down in point 3 of Part B under any circumstances;
for all other parameters:
the location and frequency of sampling shall be determined in relation to the parameter's origin, as well as the variability and long-term trend of its concentration, taking into account Article 6;
to reduce the minimum sampling frequency of a parameter, as set out in point 3 of Part B, the results obtained from samples collected at regular intervals over a period of at least 3 years from sampling points representative of the whole supply zone must all be less than 60 % of the parametric value;
to remove a parameter from the list of parameters to be monitored, as set out in point 2 of Part B, the results obtained from samples collected at regular intervals over a period of at least 3 years from points representative of the whole supply zone must all be less than 30 % of the parametric value;
the removal of a particular parameter set out in point 2 of Part B from the list of parameters to be monitored shall be based on the result of the risk assessment, informed by the results of monitoring of sources of water intended for human consumption and confirming that human health is protected from the adverse effects of any contamination of water intended for human consumption, as laid down in Article 1;
the sampling frequency may be reduced or a parameter removed from the list of parameters to be monitored as set out in points (ii) and (iii) only if the risk assessment confirms that no factor that can be reasonably anticipated is likely to cause deterioration of the quality of the water intended for human consumption.
risk assessments are approved by their relevant competent authority; and
information is available showing that a risk assessment has been carried out, together with a summary of its results.
compliance samples for certain chemical parameters (in particular copper, lead and nickel) shall be taken at the consumer's tap without prior flushing. A random daytime sample of one litre volume is to be taken. As an alternative, Member States may use fixed stagnation time methods that better reflect their national situation, provided that, at the supply zone level, this does not result in fewer cases of non-compliance than using the random daytime method;
compliance samples for microbiological parameters at the point of compliance shall be taken and handled according to EN ISO 19458, sampling purpose B.
[F1Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000 establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy ( OJ L 327, 22.12.2000, p. 1 ).]
Latest Available (revised):The latest available updated version of the legislation incorporating changes made by subsequent legislation and applied by our editorial team. Changes we have not yet applied to the text, can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area.
Original (As adopted by EU): The original version of the legislation as it stood when it was first adopted in the EU. No changes have been applied to the text.
Geographical Extent: Indicates the geographical area that this provision applies to. For further information see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.
Show Timeline of Changes: See how this legislation has or could change over time. Turning this feature on will show extra navigation options to go to these specific points in time. Return to the latest available version by using the controls above in the What Version box.
Access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item from this tab. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
This timeline shows the different versions taken from EUR-Lex before exit day and during the implementation period as well as any subsequent versions created after the implementation period as a result of changes made by UK legislation.
The dates for the EU versions are taken from the document dates on EUR-Lex and may not always coincide with when the changes came into force for the document.
For any versions created after the implementation period as a result of changes made by UK legislation the date will coincide with the earliest date on which the change (e.g an insertion, a repeal or a substitution) that was applied came into force. For further information see our guide to revised legislation on Understanding Legislation.
Use this menu to access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
Click 'View More' or select 'More Resources' tab for additional information including: