Investigating the limitations of the current UK water pipe material risk assessment guidance and procedures

Water companies have a statuary duty to supply wholesome water. Developer and/or landowners are responsibility for securing the safe development of a site affected by contamination. Soil and groundwater contamination as a result of historical industrial uses or as a result of a pollution incident such as oil, fuel, solvent or chemical spillages can and have, posed a threat to the drinking water quality and to the structural integrity of pipes used for distributing water. As part of this research water industry guidance (UKWIR 2010 and Water UK protocol) for the selection of water pipe materials and its application by UK water companies and other key stakeholders, involved in planning, designing and the installation of water pipes and fittings, during the development of land potentially affected by contamination, has been undertaken. This thesis created a database of risk assessments for water pipes submitted to a water company to determine common omissions by developers/SLO (or their consultants) and the water company from the current water industry guidance. It has illustrated that the majority of water connection applications to the water company fall short of meeting the requirements of the industry guidance through data analysis and case studies. It is also illustrated that there is variation in the adoption of water industry guidance by water companies across the UK