What is a private water supply?

In general terms a private water supply is any water supply which is not provided by water company. It is not a "mains" supply. No water rates are paid for these supplies although the person who owns a supply may make a charge. There are no laws controlling the charges or other conditions connected with private supplies. The owner or person who uses the supply is responsible for repairing and maintaining it. About 1% of the population use water from private supplies. Private supplies are usually used in the more remote parts of the country.

A private water supply could serve just one property or it could be a large supply with a large network of pipes supplying water to many properties. The water may come from a spring, a well, a borehole, a pond or a stream.

The water can be sent to the user by channels, land drains, pipes and tanks or it may even just run over the ground. A combination of these methods may be used.

Quality Standards for Water
Good quality water is very important to everyday life. Every house must have a good supply of clean, fresh water for it to be fit for occupation. Water is at risk of being contaminated from everything that it comes into contact with.

To make sure that water used in the home and for producing food is of the high quality that is needed to protect public health, the Government has set legal quality standards which all water used for drinking, washing and cooking or used in businesses which produce food or drink must meet.

The role of the local authority
Under section 77 of the Water Industry Act 1991, local authorities have to check the quality of all water supplies in their areas. Water companies test their water supply regularly to check that it meets the quality standards. Information about the results of these tests is given to local authorities and is available on public registers kept by water companies.

Local authorities test private water supplies. Laws controlling the way that local authorities carry out their duty concerning private water supplies are included in the Private water Supplies Regulations 1991.

Among other things these rules set out how often a local authority must take a sample of water from a private supply, what tests it must carry out and how much it can charge for taking the sample and testing the water.

Local authorities will be keeping a register of all the private water supplies in their area, with information about test results. The register will be available for the public to inspect.

Each private water supply is put into classes depending on what the water from the supply is used for, how many people are using the supply and the amount of water used. A supply, which is only used for drinking, washing and cooking by people who live in the properties that get the supply, will be classified as category 1. A supply, which is used to make food and drink that will be sold, or is used in properties which different people live in at different times of the year, will be classed as category 2.

Generally speaking the more people who use the supply, the more often and the more detailed the tests have to be. Supplies used for producing food generally have to be tested more frequently and strictly than domestic supplies.

Contact

For further information on private water supplies within South Bedfordshire, contact:

Environmental Health,
South Bedfordshire District Council,
The District Offices,
High Street North,
Dunstable,
Bedfordshire. LU6 1LF

Telephone: 0845 849 6103
Fax: 0845 849 6146