General Workplace Safety
Drinking Water

This guidance only covers the availability of drinking water, the management of the water supply and all other water systems, including that of mains drinking water is covered by separate guidance.

 

The basic legal requirement is that "an adequate supply of wholesome drinking water and suitable clean cups must be supplied at readily accessible, suitable places in the premises".

 

People should not have to obtain drinking water from areas where there is a risk of it becoming contaminated. All mains water in kitchens should be drinkable. In many older workplaces water to drink was provided in toilet areas and provided this meets legal requirements is still acceptable, but in newer buildings and where premises are refurbished, people should not have to draw water to drink from toilet areas.

 

Drinking water provided in carafes and jugs must be covered, and the carafes cleaned and water changed daily.

 

If people have any concerns about the quality of drinking water then they should tell the department responsible for providing the water (for example by calling the facilities management helpline), tell their manager and alert their colleagues.

 

 

There is no requirement to provide bottled water or "water coolers" provided that there is a suitable main supply. Any bottled water cooler provided for drinking water must be obtained from a member of the Bottled Water Coolers Association (BWCA) or other reputable supplier.  There must be arrangements to keep them hygienically clean and to ensure that water in open containers does not go stale. There will need to be suitable storage for water containers so that they do not get dirty or contaminated by chemicals. Water cooler bottles are often heavy and a manual handling risk assessment must be undertaken where they are provided.

 

 

On productions it is preferable to use the mains drinking water supply where possible.  However it is dangerous to assume that water in taps is safe to drink even if it looks clean, the supply may be contaminated by chemicals or by water borne germs. This is a particular risk where pipes are rarely used. If there is no mains supply or if its purity is in any doubt then water should be provided from purpose-designed tanks and bowsers or from bottles.

 

Where it is proposed to use mains water and there is any doubt over its quality then it should be tested by a public health laboratory, mains water provider or other competent body.

 

Otherwise the same standards apply as to permanent BBC workplaces. There are numerous legal provisions concerning the mains supply of water and technical advice should be sought from ORM or from the mains water provider at the location before any connections or changes are made to the mains supply. For example by running a temporary pipe from an inconveniently placed tap to the catering area.

 

Where drinking water is provided by a third party such as a location owner or venue manager then the producer is responsible for checking with that person whether the supply is adequate for the number of people involved and that it is  uncontaminated. The producer must ensure that someone is responsible, or is made responsible, for keeping all associated pipes taps and water containers clean. Suitable providers of advice will be catering suppliers; occupational risk managers; facilities management departments and mains water providers.

 

Special consideration should be given to ensuring that taps are not located in such a way that they can get dirty or contaminated and that drinking water taps and the areas around them are clean.

 

It is common sense that people on short assignments such as news teams should have a supply of bottled drinking water with them.

 

Where an assignment is undertaken in a high risk area then advice should be sought from the ORM high risk team, from local experts, or from the occupational health team about provision of clean drinking water, including ways of purifying suspect supplies.

 

 

General responsibilities for providing drinking water
Provision of drinking water, including ensuring its quality, is normally the responsibility of the facilities management  department or the landlord.

 

On locations the producer is responsible for ensuring that everyone on the production has access to drinking water.

 

All managers have the responsibility of finding out who is responsible for the water supply for their staff.

 

All staff have a responsibility to report if they suspect that the drinking water supply is inadequate or contaminated.