Nationwide Bottled Water Bank

What is the Nationwide Bottled Water Bank?

A quality assured stock of over 2,500,000 litres of bottled drinking water for emergency use, located at depots across the UK, managed and deployed by Water Direct enabling swift delivery to wherever and whenever it’s needed. The water is sourced and replenished from multiple approved sources and regularly audited production lines to ensure supply resilience and quality.

Why does it exist?

Water utility companies are bound by law to provide ‘wholesome’ drinking water at all times in accordance with Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations, even during interruptions to regular supply. This means that any alternative water provided in these situations is deemed an extension to the usual public water supply and should meet the same legal definitions of ‘wholesome’ at the point of compliance.

You can read the government’s generic guidance on planning for major water supply incidents here, and DWI guidance regarding the WS(WQ) Regulations can be found here. Water Direct is the only supplier in the UK able to provide bottled water which conforms to these regulations and our water utility clients use our quality assured Nationwide Bottled Water Bank stock to fulfil their requirements against the Security & Emergency Measures Direction (SEMD).

How does it work?

Each member deposits half of their SEMD requirement and Water Direct matches their deposit, creating a large reserve which is available nationwide ensuring prompt response in the event of an emergency.

Benefits include:

• Water direct manages deployment and stock rotation, ensuring stock never expires.
• Members are only required to purchase half of their emergency requirement.
• Mitigates the effect of panic-buying during supply interruptions.
• Commercially retailed bottled water is not tested in line with WS(WQ) Regulations.

Who can become a member?

Water utility companies looking to underpin their local or regional resilience plans or other large organisations requiring a rapid response and quality assured alternative water supply.