CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION & BACKGROUND
Introduction
1.1 mruk research were commissioned in 2007 by Rural and Environment Analytical Services on behalf of the Environmental Quality Directorate within the Scottish Executive to inform the Drinking Water Quality Regulator ( DWQR).
1.2 This report will set out the project background and objectives and the methodologies employed before going onto the research findings.
Background
1.3 Recent years have seen significant investment to improve drinking water quality standards, resulting in high levels of compliance with respect to quality standards. Indeed in 2005, 99.56% of all tests on samples taken from consumer taps met required standards. 1 Despite such investment, consumer complaints data from Scottish Water suggests a considerable number of consumers perceive a problem with their tap water quality - a total of 22,553 complaints were recorded by Scottish Water in 2005, increasing to 25,299 in 2006. Consumer complaints data indicates that the most common prompt for concern was the appearance of the water, followed by dissatisfaction with the taste. Even when there is no danger to health, a discoloured supply, odour or taste can result in consumers being concerned about the impact on health and trust in their supply.
1.4 Research was therefore considered necessary in order to explore consumer experiences and perceptions of drinking water quality, including instances of making a complaint and having it addressed.