2. Difficulties encountered

2.1 Distributed water quality, public health and consumer demand

• Surface water resources are rarely of excellent quality, and groundwater is increasingly contaminated by man-made pollutants. The major difficulty is therefore to always supply good quality water, in compliance with current regulations, even when the quality of the resource is (or is likely to be) contaminated.

  Furthermore, the quality limits and references (parameters) for drinking water are stringent and increasingly difficult to comply with, while the analytical methods used to monitor them are becoming more and more sophisticated. What's more, these parameters must now be respected at the consumer's tap, rather than at the treatment plant outlet. Delivered water must...