The House of Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee sought assurances last week from Michael Gove on drinking water safety post-Brexit – but the Environment Minister failed to provide an outright guarantee.

The Committee was taking evidence from the Secretary of State and Clare Moriarty, Permanent Secretary at Defra for its inquiry on whether Defra is ready for Brexit.

In response to a question from Neil Parish, Committee Chair on whether a report in the press that the Minister was particularly worried about a no-deal Brexit and “prepared to sign up to the deal because of chemicals needed to purify water in this country”, Michael Gove replied:

“There is an issue…but there was an element of Chinese whispers. It is the case that the water industry is reliant on chemicals that are imported from the EU in order to ensure we have pure and safe drinking water, but it is also the case that the overwhelming majority of those chemicals come into ports that are not in the narrow strait: they come in through Immingham rather than through Dover, though some come through Dover.

He went on to explain that Defra had talked to the water companies, and that he would also be talking to the regulator to make sure the chemicals could be sourced, adding:

“It is one of those issues where, if we leave without a deal we have to take appropriate steps to mitigate. We are taking those steps. It should be the case in fact, it will be the case -that our water will be completely safe to drink.”

Pursuing the same line of questioning, Dr Caroline Johnson asked whether it was true that Whitehall officials or Whitehall sources were saying that the UK “will run out of clean drinking water within days” in the event of a no-deal Brexit at the end of March.

Michael Gove explained that the majority of the chemicals required came in through Immingham and there was no suggestion that this flow should “necessarily be adversely affected by leaving without a deal.”

However, some chemicals did come in through the Strait of Dover and Dover crossings were likely to be affected by no deal, “so there was a potential danger, but action has been taken and is being taken by water companies now in order to ensure that the eventuality does not arise.” he added.

Dr Johnson went on to seek assurances that the story in the press suggesting that people in Whitehall thought that they were going to run out of water in March was “basically untrue”. She called on Michael Gove to make sure he was very clear with the public so people who were worried they were going to run out of water were reassured it was not necessary to stockpile and buy bottled water.

Michael Gove explained that there was a range of chemicals used in the preparation of water for safe drinking and that some chemicals had a volatility which meant they could only be safely stored for a period of two weeks. While other chemicals could be stored safely for a very long period, water companies had been “used to sourcing some of these chemicals on a just-in-time basis.”

“Having identified that and having talked to the water companies, we can then say the risk does not exist.”

Angela Smith returned to the issues relating to the cleaning of water supply by the water companies, saying that one of the components in the chemical mix was chlorine gas, imported on a just-in-time basis – and there was a severe lack of storage capacity for chlorine gas, commenting:

“The key question here is about whether you can guarantee that storage capacity will be in place by 30 March.”

In response to Michael Gove’s reply “ I will do everything I can”, the MP said:

“You will do everything you can. That is not a guarantee, I am afraid.”

Angela Smith remained dissatisfied with his commitment to provide a guarantee that “we will ensure that the drinking water in this country is absolutely safe in the event of exit”, saying:

“That is not the guarantee I was looking for,” and went on to reiterate her question about guaranteeing the storage capacity several times.

Clearly dissatisfied with the Minister’s comment that he was “not going to micromanage every aspect of what water companies do, Angela Smith said:

“This is not micromanagement. This is the situation the water companies face as a consequence of Government policymaking and a lack of preparation.”

When Michael Gove said:

“ It is probably fair to say that water companies have been working incredibly hard with us to ensure that the supply will be safe”, she concluded that the answer was no and that there was no guarantee,

Michael Gove went on to tell the EFRA Committee :

“Angela raised a very legitimate concern. What we want to do is take all the action necessary in order to mitigate the impact of no deal and to be aware of what the opportunities are, but I also want to be honest with this Committee and the public about what some of the challenges are.”