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A private water supply is any supply which is not provided by a water company, such as Thames Water. The water may come from a spring, a well, a bore-hole or a stream.
Every home should have a supply of good clean water to be fit for people to live in.
On Ist 2010 the Private Water Supplies Regulations 2009 came into force.
The standards have been determined according to various factors. For instance, where chemicals might affect health, standards have been set based on acceptable values for lifetime exposure. Some standards also allow for the nuisance value of chemicals which affect taste, odour or appearance of a supply. Finally, some standards have been set because the presence of certain bacteria or chemicals can indicate the presence of other, more hazardous substances.
Each local authority has a responsibility for holding information on all private water supplies in its District, and the Regulations include rules dictating how often samples must be taken and what the water must be tested for.
What happens if the supply does not meet the standards?
In the first instance advice will be given on various improvements which can be made. These may include:
Sometimes it may prove necessary to install a filter to remove or lower the level of a particular substance.
Examples include:
New private water supply regulations - what you need to Know.
The new regulations aim to protect health and they require the same quality standards as the mains water supply. They 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. The regulations affect all private supplies although those serving a single dwelling will only be risk assessed and sampled upon request. Within 5 years, the Council has to complete the risk assessments for all supplies within its district (except supplies to single dwellings) and there is a duty on the Council to regularly monitor supplies used as part of a commercial or public activity and for village estate supplies which service 50 or more persons per day.
The Council must charge for this work .
Fees and Charges
|
Service |
maximum fee(£) |
|
Commericial Risk Assessment (each assessment) Hourly rate of £19.77 |
400 |
|
Administration fee Small Domestic Supplies Risk Assessment (each assessment) Hourly rate of £19.77 |
49.92
200 |
|
Adminstration fee
Sampling (each visit) |
49.92 Fixed Fee(£) 100 |
|
Investigation |
100 |
|
Granting an authorisation |
100 |
|
|
|
|
Analysing a sample |
|
|
Taken under Regulation 10 |
25 |
|
Taken during Check monitoring |
not exceeding £100 |
|
Taken during Audit monitoring |
not exceeding £500 |
Contamination from flooding
If you rely on a private water supply and suffer a flooding event, you should assume the supply has been contaminated and is not fit to use without boiling. Alternatively you could use a bottled water supply, but please refer to the advice of the Health Protection Agency on giving bottled water to infants. Even if you have a treatment system, it may be the contamination is heavy (this may not be visible) and the treatment method may have been unable to cope with this. Therefore still treat the water as contaminated and boil accordingly. If you are concerned about the quality of your supply, contact the Environmental Protection team for the safety of the water to be tested on 01993 861060.
To Find Out More
Advice on the treatment and regulation of private water supplies its to be found in this leaflet entitled Keeping Your Private Water Supply Safe.
If your home or business is served by a private water supply, and you would like more information, or would like to arrange a test, or simply wish to check whether you are already on our register, please phone 01993 861060 or use the online service on the right of this page.
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Last reviewed 30 March 2012
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