Guernsey Water boasts "excellent standards"

Sunday 11 December 2022

Recent testing has proven that Guernsey had "excellent drinking water" during 2021 recording a 100% compliance with standards last year.

The utility's recently released 2021 water quality report states that a total of 4,416 million litres of drinking water was provided last year, the equivalent of more than four times the volume of St Saviour’s reservoir.

Margaret McGuinness, Water Quality Risk Manager at Guernsey Water, said: “Drinking water is vital for public health, so we always strive to attain the highest levels of quality.

“Our staff cover all aspects of the science and engineering of the public water supply, the achievement of such a high figure is thanks to their collective expertise.”

Pictured: Margaret McGuinness.

The standards were checked by taking a total of 7,023 samples from Guernsey Water’s three operational water treatment works, three service reservoirs, water tower and one water supply zone alone, all meeting the national and European Union Standards for drinking water quality.

The utility also monitors raw (untreated) water sources for pollutants.

Mrs McGuinness said different sources are monitored to keep abreast of any issues across the water network. 

“We monitor each raw water source and choose which ones to collect based on their quality. We then blend water from different sources in our reservoirs, which are also closely monitored.

"Quality assurance steps like these are taken at each stage from source to tap, which enables us to achieve such high standards of drinking water compliance.”

The full 2021 report can be found HERE.