Newark & Sherwood District Council

A private water supply is any water supply that is not provided by the water authority (i.e. Severn Trent Water) and can be from a well, borehole or spring. All private water supply owners are responsible for ensuring that the quality of the water they provide is wholesome and meets the same standard as the mains supply.

In 2010, the Private Water Supply Regulations 2009 came into force, bringing about a few changes to how the council monitors and assesses the safety of private water supplies.

Private water supplies serving only one household are no longer required to be routinely monitored by the council. However, you can choose to have your private water supply assessed by the council if you wish but there will be a charge.

Private water supplies serving more than one household or commercial enterprise must be risk assessed and regularly monitored by the council. This is a chargeable service and the costs are to be apportioned between households/enterprises.

Under the new regulations, private water supplies now include private distribution systems, i.e. water supplied by Severn Trent Water which is then further distributed by another person to more than one premises past the point at which responsibility leaves the water company. These will be treated as above.

If we consider that a private water supply is unwholesome, the regulations state that we are required to:

• investigate the cause
• inform the private water supplier user(s) if the supply constitutes a potential danger to human health
• give the user(s) advice to allow them to minimise the potential of danger
• liaise with the Health Protection Agency to seek advice on whether there is potential danger to human health

The council must also send an annual report to the Drinking Water Inspectorate, regarding our activities in this area. We are required to keep a register of all the private water supplies throughout the district, with information about test results. This is available on request.

If you have a private water supply that is currently registered and would like to arrange for a sample to be taken, or would like further advice on treatment methods or other private water supply matters, please contact us.

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