Draft Water Law (Jersey) Amendment Regulations 202- (P.26/2026) – Children’s Rights Impact Assessment

1)  Name and brief description of the proposed decision Decision' means:

• an Assembly proposition

• an amendment (or further amendment) to a proposition

• for Ministerial duty-bearers, policy under development

Summary:

PFAS  are  manmade  forever  chemicals'  and  are  found  everywhere  in  the environment worldwide. Human exposure to PFAS via water and food is a health concern and emerging area of science. Jersey's Government has undertaken work to address risks and the PFAS Scientific Advisory Panel has made recommendations to set a limit for PFAS in the public water supply.

The recommendation by the PFAS Scientific Advisory Panel is for a limit of 4 ng/l for the sum of four PFAS' for the water supplied to the public by Jersey Water. The recommendation by the PFAS Scientific Advisory Panel is for the new limit to be reached within five years.

PFAS are of particular interest in Jersey because of their presence in some boreholes and wells.

Firefighting foams that contained PFAS chemicals were historically used at Jersey Airport. As a result, there are significant levels of PFAS in groundwater in St Ouen's Bay. Further Island-wide testing has indicated the presence of PFAS in groundwater and surface water streams elsewhere in the Island.

Jersey Water takes water from the natural water environment (groundwater, streams, reservoirs) across the Island for treatment before putting water into the public supply network. Therefore, concerns have been expressed about levels of PFAS in the public water supply.

The Panel has produced four reports to date looking at various impacts of PFAS. Report 4, to be published March 19th, 2026, is looking at environmental impacts including on drinking water.

On 7 August 2025 the panel published a draft report on PFAS and the public water supply.

The report recommends that the Government sets a new regulatory limit for PFAS levels in public drinking water in Jersey.

• The Panel recommends that the Government sets a new, lower combined limit for the sum of four' PFAS of 4 ng/l.

• The Panel's report examines possible treatment options and recommends the public water supply should reach the proposed new limit within five years.

Jersey Water's public water supply currently meets both UK and EU regulatory standards for PFAS.

2)  Which groups of children and young people are likely to be affected?

Groups of children could include early years, primary or secondary education; young adults; children with additional learning needs; disabled children; children living in poverty; children from particular ethnic backgrounds; migrants; refugees; care experienced children and LGBTQ+ children

The proposed regulatory provisions will affect all islanders (children, young people and adults) both when consuming public water outside the home (e.g. in schools, care settings, food businesses, places of employment) and within the home.

3)  What is the likely impact of the proposed decision on children and on their rights?

Impacts may be positive or negative, direct or indirect

Include whether different groups of children will be affected differently by the decision

The proposed regulatory provisions will have indirect but positive impacts on children's rights under the UNCRC, particularly Articles 6 (Health and Development), 24 (Health), 27 (Standard of Living).

4)  Is a full Children's Rights Impact Assessment required?

If you have identified impacts on children and their rights, a full CRIA should be completed. If no impacts are identified then a Full CRIA is not required, but please explain your rationale and how you reached this conclusion

No, a full Child Rights impact assessment is not required for this schedule change.

Although the proposed regulatory provisions do not place any direct obligations on children and young people, it has a clear indirect and positive impact on the rights of the child.