The purity of drinking water is evaluated and controlled according to the indicators of quality of drinking water and hygienic limits thereof. The quoted Act of the Slovak Ministry of Health No. 29/2002 Coll., in force from February 2002, stipulates the following:
- professional terms and definitions,
- indicators of quality of drinking water and hygienic limits thereof,
- scope, count, and criteria for control of quality of drinking water,
- required information in the protocol on results of control of the indicators of quality of drinking water,
- required information in an application for grating a permit for use of drinking water which fails to meet the hygienic limits
The Act stipulates limit values for 79 indicators of quality of drinking water. A separate legal regulation (Act No. 12/2001 Coll. on requirements on assurance of protection against radiation) stipulates the limit values for the contents of radionuclides in supplied water The legislation also regulates the review of proposals to use materials which are in contact with drinking water, namely in the provision of § 27 of the Slovak Parliamentary Law No. 256/2003 Coll., which amends the above Slovak Parliamentary Law No. 272/1994 Coll. on human health protection. The used materials must in no event deteriorate the quality of drinking water supplied to the population, and they are subject to administrative proceedings before a health protection authority, unless stipulated otherwise in a special regulation.
Currently, a bill of the Slovak Ministry of Health is being prepared on hygienic requirements for products which are in contact with the drinking water.
It should be stressed that in spite of the fact that the current wording of the Act of the Slovak Ministry of Health No. 29/2002 Coll., on requirements for drinking water and control of quality of drinking water, is based on the WHO criteria, as well as the Directive of EU Council 98/83/EC on the quality of water intended for human consumption, certain defects were found in respect of the European legislation. Because the harmonization of the Slovak technical law with the EU legal regulations, the European standards and procedures, as well as the issues of reviewing compliance, arises from the European Agreement on Accession, the given regulation should have been amended. It means particularly adding some elected indicators of quality of drinking water (e.g. taste, total organic carbon, etc.), as well as more detail analysis and number of taken samples of drinking water in accordance with the quoted Directive of the EU Council 98/83/EC. It is expected that the amended Act shall come into force on March 1, 2004.
Control of Quality of Drinking Water and Water Resources
The liabilities of natural persons authorised to do business activities, and legal persons which produce and supply drinking water and which exploit water resources for supply of drinking water, are stipulated by the Slovak Parliamentary Law No. 272/1994 Coll., as amended, on human health protection, as well as the Act of the Slovak Ministry of Health No. 29/2002 Coll. on requirements for drinking water and control of quality of drinking water.
The health protection authorities or the public health offices perform control of quality of drinking water within the governmental health supervision according to the quoted Law.
The objects of the governmental health supervision are especially the factors which affect the quality and quantity of drinking water in specific conditions, objects serving for supply (resources), treatment, disinfection, and accumulation of water, control of quality and sufficient volume of water in consumption places, as well as the entities engaged in these activities. From August 1, 2003, an amendment to the quoted Slovak Parliamentary Law No. 272/1994 Coll. on human health protection, namely the Slovak Parliamentary Law No. 256/2003 Coll.
In this connection, the competence of the public health authorities (former state medical institutions) has been extended by the liability to monitor the quality of drinking water. Monitoring of quality of drinking water is performed in regular time intervals and in permanent consumption sites in the consumption place. Introduction of monitoring of drinking water belongs to the requirements for implementation in Article 7 of the Council´s Directive 98/83/EC on the quality of water intended for human consumption. In order to clarify the relation between the program of monitoring the quality of drinking water and the governmental health supervision over mass supply of drinking water to the population, it should be stressed that monitoring does not replace the professional performances related to the governmental health supervision which is performed according to special professional criteria and is aimed at control of compliance with the liabilities of natural and legal persons, stipulated by the Slovak Parliamentary Law No. 272/1994 Coll., including preparation of expert opinions and imposing measures to remedy defects in supply of drinking water to the population.
It should be stressed that the requirements for quality of drinking water develop very quickly, which is due to extended scientific knowledge on effects of drinking water on health. The latest WHO directive for quality of drinking water was published in 1998, and currently a revision is being prepared of the EU Directive on quality of water intended for human consumption, which was published on December 5, 1998 in the Official Journal of the European Communities (Directive 98/83/ES).
Information and Contact:
Ing. Zuzana Bratska,
Regional Public Health Office
Ipelska 1, Kosice
Tel.:055/7860231
