The Natural Mineral Water, Spring Water and Bottled Drinking Water Regulations 1999

Regulations 11, 12 and 16

SCHEDULE 3 Requirements for spring water and drinking water including prescribed concentrations or values of parameters

Part I Requirements for spring water and drinking water

1.  Water satisfies the requirements of this Schedule if–

(a) the water does not contain any property, element, organism, or substance–

(i) (other than a parameter) at a concentration or value which would be injurious to health;

(ii) (whether or not a parameter) at a concentration or value which in conjunction with any other property, element, organism or substance it contains (whether or not a parameter) would be injurious to health;

(b) the water does not contain–

(i) concentrations or values of any of the parameters listed in Tables A to D in Part II of this Schedule in excess of the prescribed concentrations or values;

(ii) concentrations of trihalomethanes (being the aggregate of the concentrations of trichloromethane, dichlorobromomethane, dibromochloromethane and tribromomethane) in excess of 100 μg/l; and

(c) in the case of water prepared from water which has been softened or desalinated, its hardness is not below a minimum concentration of 60 mg Ca/l and its alkalinity is not below a minimum concentration of 30 mg HCO₃/l.

2.  The concentrations or values of the parameters listed in Tables A to D in Part II of this Schedule shall be read in conjunction with the notes thereto.

Part II Prescribed concentrations or values

TABLE A

Column 1	Column 2	Column 3	Column 4
Item	Parameters	Units of Measurement	Concentration or Value (maximum unless otherwise stated)
Note
(i) If silver is used in a water treatment process, 80 may be substituted for 10.
1.	Colour	mg/l Pt/Co scale	20
2.	Turbidity (including suspended solids)	Formazin turbidity units	4
3.	Odour (including hydrogen sulphide)	Dilution number	3 at 25°C
4.	Taste	Dilution number	3 at 25°C
5.	Temperature	°C	25
6.	Sulphate	Mg SO4/l	250
7.	Magnesium	Mg Mg/l	50
8.	Sodium	Mg Na/l	150
9.	Potassium	Mg K/l	12
10.	Dry residues	Mg/l	1500 (after drying at 180°C)
11.	Nitrate	Mg NO3/l	50
12.	Nitrite	Mg NO2/l	0.1
13.	Ammonium (ammonia and ammonium ions)	Mg NH4/l	0.5
14.	Kjeldahl nitrogen	Mg N/l	1
15.	Oxidizability (permanganate value)	Mg O2/l	5
16.	Total organic carbon	Mg C/l	No significant increase over that normally observed
17.	Dissolved or emulsified hydrocarbons (after extraction with petroleum ether); mineral oils	μg/l	10
18.	Phenols	μg C6H5OH/l	0.5
19.	Surfactants	μg/l (as lauryl sulphate)	200
20.	Aluminium	μg A1/l	200
21.	Iron	μg Fe/l	200
22.	Manganese	μg Mn/l	50
23.	Copper	μg Cu/l	3000
24.	Zinc	μg Zn/l	5000
25.	Phosphorus	μg P/l	2200
26.	Fluoride	μg F/l	1500
27.	Silver	μg Ag/l	10(i)

TABLE B

Column 1	Column 2	Column 3	Column 4
Item	Parameters	Units of Measurement	Maximum Concentration
Notes
(i) The sum of the detected concentrations of individual substances.
(ii) The sum of the detected concentrations of fluoranthene, benzo 3.4 fluoranthene, benzo 11.12 fluoranthene, benzo 3.4 pyrene, benzo 1.12 perylene and indeno (1,2,3–cd) pyrene.
1.	Arsenic	μg As/l	50
2.	Cadmium	μg Cd/l	5
3.	Cyanide	μg CN/l	50
4.	Chromium	μg Cr/l	50
5.	Mercury	μg Hg/l	1
6.	Nickel	μg Ni/l	50
7.	Selenium	μg Se/l	10
8.	Antimony	μg Sb/l	10
9.	Lead	μg Pb/l	10
10.	Pesticides and related products: (a) individual substances	μg/l	0.1
	(b) total substances(i)	μg/l	0.5
11.	Polycyclic aromatic Hydrocarbons(ii)	μg/l	0.2

TABLE C

Column 1	Column 2	Column 3	Column 4
Item	Parameters	Units of Measurement	Maximum Concentration
Notes
(i) Analysis by multiple tube method.
(ii) The total viable colony count should be measured within 12 hours of bottling with the sample water being kept at a constant temperature during that 12-hour period. Any increase in the total viable colony count of the water between 12 hours after bottling and the time of sale shall not be greater than that normally expected.
1.	Total coliforms	number/100 ml	0
2.	Faecal coliforms	number/100 ml	0
3.	Faecal streptococci	number/100 ml	0
4.	Sulphite-reducing clostridia	number/20 ml	≤1(i)
5.	Colony counts	number/1 ml at 22°C	100(ii)
		number/1 ml at 37°C	20(ii)

TABLE D

Column 1	Column 2	Column 3	Column 4
Item	Parameters	Units of Measurement	Maximum Concentration or Value
1.	Conductivity	μS/cm	1500 at 20°C
2.	Chloride	mg Cl/l	400
3.	Calcium	mg Ca/l	250
4.	Substances extractable in chloroform	mg/l dry residue	1
5.	Boron	μg B/l	2000
6.	Barium	μg Ba/l	1000
7.	Benzo 3.4 pyrene	ng/l	10
8.	Tetrachloromethane	μg/l	3
9.	Trichloroethene	μg/l	30
10.	Tetrachloroethene	μg/l	10