Private Water Supplies

Water Down the Plug A private water supply is any water supply which is not provided by a water company and consequently is not a ‘mains’ supply. Only around 1% of the population of England and Wales are served by a private water supply to their homes but the water needs to be of the same potable standard. There are a number of private water supplies in the Borough situated in the more remote, rural parts of the area. The source of these supplies includes wells and boreholes of differing depths and natural springs. Many private supplies only provide water to a single domestic property while a few serve many properties through a network of pipes.

The Private Water Supplies Regulations 2009 were introduced in January 2010 to establish better standards in private supplies for both domestic and commercial situations where they were used for human consumption. The Regulations require each supply to undergo a risk assessment so that the monitoring regime is tailored to the risk it presents as a result of factors such as the source of supply, the area it is abstracted from and the number of consumers at potential risk. The regulations affect all private supplies although those serving a single dwelling will only be risk assessed and sampled upon request.

The Regulations require that by the end of 2015 all local authorities will have completed the necessary risk assessments for all the supplies within its district (except supplies to single dwellings) and a duty is placed on the local authority to regularly monitor supplies used as part of a commercial or public activity and for supplies serving 50 or more persons per day. Details of the costs that this Council charges for its activities under the Regulations can be downloaded from this page.