Private Drinking Water Supplies
The Private Water Supplies Regulations 2009
Regulations on private water supplies in England and Wales were introduced in 1991 and were replaced by new Regulations introduced early in 2010. The new Regulations apply to all who own or use a private water supply. The new Regulations have been introduced to ensure that water from private supplies is wholesome, so that people who drink water or consume food or drinks made from private supplies may do so without risk to their health.
What is a Private Drinking Water Supply (PWS)?
This is a water supply which is not provided by a statutory water undertaker such as Southern Water. These supplies are usually located in a rural area and may be a well, borehole, spring, stream, river, lake or pond.
Who is responsible for monitoring PWS?
Under the Water Industry Act 1991, the local authority has a duty to monitor all PWS in their area. This includes sampling and risk assessing the supply.
What type of Private Water Supply is mine?
The Private Water Supply Regulations 2009 divide private water supplies into 3 categories for monitoring purposes. These are:
- Commercial or large supplies (more than 10 cubic meters of water/day or supplying 50 people or more)
- Small supplies (domestic use only*) (less than 10 cubic meters of water/day or under 50 people using the supply)
- Single Dwellings (only one single domestic dwelling uses the water).
Commercial supplies include food preparation/production, care homes, holiday homes, B&Bs, and caravan and campsites. In addition, where water is used for any of the following, it will be considered to be commercial use: washing crops/foodstuffs (particularly ready to eat foodstuffs such as salad crops or fruit and vegetables), within Dairy Farm production, incorporation into food as an ingredient, cleaning of food production equipment, utensils, walls, floors, ceilings and work surfaces, production of ice, hand washing by food handlers, etcetera.
*’Domestic use’ is defined through guidance issued by the Drinking Water Inspectorate, and refers to the use of water for drinking, cooking, food preparation, and personal washing (such as washing hands and showering).
What are the main differences between the categories?
The main differences are the size of the supply, the frequency of testing and the number of tests that are carried out.
- Commercial/large supplies – must be sampled at least once a year and are subject to most tests
- Small supplies – As a minimum these supplies must be sampled at least once every 5 years
- All supplies are risk assessed every 5 years
- Single Dwellings – There is no requirement to sample or risk assess these supplies. The local authority will only risk assess and sample at the request of the owner/occupier, who is responsible for charges
I have a private water supply. Should I notify the local authority?
Yes. The Private Water Supply Regulations 2009 apply to all PWS. If you require further information, please contact the Environmental Health Team on 01983 823000.
Charges
The regulations allow us to recover the costs of carrying out a risk assessment, sampling and analysis.
The table below sets out the charging scheme and the maximum amounts and what our charging scheme is. Any charges will be fully explained on request.
Details of decision to approve these charges can be viewed at http://www.iwight.com/council/what_is_a_council/images/2RecordofDecision-pwscharges.pdf
| Service (Activity) | Max Fee (£) | Charging Scheme | Comments |
| Risk assessment (each assessment) | £500 | £23.24 an hour (Salary point 34 charge out rate) | Minimum charge £50, simple risk assessment and report typically 5 hours (DWI Estimate) |
| Sampling (each visit) | £100 | £23.24 an hour (Salary point 34 charge out rate) | Charge for a visit and to take a sample. |
| Investigation (each investigation) | £100 | £23.24 an hour (Salary point 34 charge out rate) + analysis cost | Carried out in the event of test failure. |
| Granting an authorisation (each authorisation) | £100 | £23.24 an hour (Salary point 34 charge out rate) | Application by the owner of a supply for permission to breach a standard temporarily whilst remedial work is carried out. |
| Analysing a sample: | | | |
| - taken under Regulation 10 | £25 | Analytical cost | Where a supply provides <10m3/day or <50 people and is used for domestic purposes. |
| - taken during check monitoring | £100 | Analytical cost | Where possible this will be carried out at the same time as any requirement for Audit monitoring, to reduce costs. |
| - taken during audit monitoring | £500 | Analytical cost | Additional parameters sampled less often to ensure the water complies with all safety standards. |
What do I need to do to make sure my PWS is safe to drink?
If the analysis result indicate that the water is not suitable for drinking, a Notice may be served. The matter may be discussed with the person responsible for the supply and Environmental Health may require remedial measures to be taken to remedy the situation
It is a legal requirement that all commercial and small supplies are risk assessed and sampled, enabling the Local Authority to check that the water is safe to drink. Emphasis is placed upon having appropriate protection of the source and supply, adequate maintenance of the supply and/or the installation of treatment to ensure your water supply is safe. There are various treatment methods available which you may choose to use such as filters, ultra violet treatment, chlorination etcetera.
There is currently no legal requirement for owners of single supplies to be risk assessed and/or sampled, however, this can be conducted at the request of the owner. Requests any owners of any single supplies, should be made to this Department.
Further Information:
General advice on private water supplies can be found on the following websites;
Guidance for owners of Private Water Supplies
http://dwi.defra.gov.uk/consumers/advice-leaflets/pws.pdf - Keeping your private water supplies safe
http://dwi.defra.gov.uk/consumers/advice-leaflets/PWS-newregs.pdf - New Private Water Supply Regulations – What do they mean for owners and consumers?
Page last updated on: 05/12/2012
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