Peter Simpson, Anglian Water’s Chief Executive and also current President of the Institute of Water, said: “In Anglian Water we are committed to delivering the highest possible standards of drinking water safety and quality for all our customers. The National Water Hygiene Scheme ‘Blue Card’ forms the very foundation stone of that work, and we have implemented a comprehensive hygiene and behavioral culture that insists on safety best practice and requires the explicit commitment of any individual who work on or near our drinking water assets to a Hygiene Charter.
“By understanding and signing up to our Hygiene Charter, everyone in contact with our business understands their core responsibilities for protecting public health and the clear expectations Anglian Water has of professional excellence in water quality. We see it as vital that we set the tone for all who work for and with us, and push ourselves to greater achievements. Our customers absolutely expect it.”
“We commend Anglian Water for taking this step to proactively drive culture and behaviours across water hygiene and safety” said Nick Ellins, Chief Executive of the Energy & Utility Skills Group,* the West Midlands-based expert voice on workforce issues in the sector across the UK, which manages the National Water Hygiene Scheme through its Energy & Utility Skills Register (EUSR),** part of the Energy & Utility Skills Group.
Mr Ellins added: “The National Water Hygiene Training and Accreditation Scheme has been continually updated and operated for over a decade as a collaboration between the UK water industry, key public health bodies and EUSR to provide the workforce with the ability to operate to the highest hygiene and safety practices whilst working on the water network.
“It is now a recognised industry standard and in Anglian Water mandating the ‘Blue Card’ and then going further through their Hygiene Charter to link their health and safety principles and drinking water quality management, they are explicitly setting out their intentions to have individuals commit to best practice in their own behaviours and play their part in making excellence the standard in public health.”
Milo Purcell, Deputy Chief Inspector of the Drinking Water Inspectorate commented:
“It is important for anyone working in contact with the water supply, to learn and fully understand their responsibilities to protecting public health and public confidence in drinking water quality. The Drinking Water Inspectorate expects all those involved to operate to the highest standards of hygiene and safety, ensuring that clean drinking water remains wholesome and there is no deterioration to the quality of supply.”
Notes to editors:
* Energy & Utility Skills Group continues to raise awareness of the importance and value of the NWHS training to protecting public health, highlighting the ten year anniversary of the UK-wide scheme, providing a case study of the longest card holding engineer and then giving an example of the water companies now mandating the ‘blue card’ training right across their business.
** The Energy & Utility Skills Register is an independent skills platform which provides recognised standards for the utility sector. It is operated by Energy & Utility Skills, the sector skills body for the gas, power, waste management and water industries. EUSR is designed to support industry employers and add value to the sector.
Image – Dark blue suit = Peter Simpson, CEO of Anglian Water Light blue shirt = Paul Valleley, Director of Water Services, Anglian Water.