Vol. 474 No. 1
119 Mr. N. Treacy asked the Minister for the Environment if his announcements regarding the abolition of service charges include the requirement of applicants for group water scheme connections to pay contribution fees in this regard and subsequent fees thereafter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2607/97]
The reply to Questions Nos. 29, 30, 43, 67, 71, 74, 246, 247, 248 and 283 of 22 January 1997 sets out the changes proposed in relation to the financing and administration of group schemes. No further changes in existing arrangements for these schemes are proposed.
120 Mr. N. Treacy asked the Minister for the Environment if he has assigned responsibility to all local authorities for the management, maintenance and regulation of all water and sewerage schemes throughout the country, both urban and rural, regional and group; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2608/97]
Local authorities are responsible for the operation and maintenance of all public water and sewerage schemes within their functional areas, including any group schemes taken over by them.
As already announced, responsibility for the administration of the group water and sewerage scheme grant programme and the small water and sewerage schemes programme, and for water and sewerage capital projects costing less than £250,000, is being devolved to county councils and county borough corporations. A provision of £15 million in block grant form is being made available in 1997 in respect of these devolved responsibilities. This includes an additional £5 million to enable local authorities to undertake an accelerated programme of works with a view to the takeover of existing group schemes.
As to regulation, the EC (Urban Waste Water Treatment) Regulations, 1994 and the EC (Quality of Water Intended for Human Consumption) Regulations, 1988 prescribe treatment and quality standards to be complied with by local authorities, subject to the general supervision of the Environmental Protection Agency. Responsibility for group water schemes, including compliance with the quality standards of the 1988 Regulations, is a matter for the trustees of these schemes. Where quality problems are detected by monitoring undertaken by local authorities, the authorities are required to notify the trustees concerned of the measures that should be taken for the improvement of the water supply. In this regard an advisory leaflet, entitled Private Water Supplies: Focus on Quality, prepared by my Department in 1991, has been distributed widely by local authorities; this highlights the vulnerability of smaller drinking water sources to pollution and advises consumers on the protection of private supplies and the implications for public health.
