Private water supplies

A private water supply is water which is not provided by a water supplier (for example Yorkshire Water). The supply could serve one property or several properties. The owner of the private water supply has a responsibility to provide safe water to the users.

The source of the supply may come from a:

• well
• borehole
• spring
• river or stream
• lake or pond
• private distribution system (mains water privately distributed by a second party)
  

Register if you receive a private water supply

Private water supply users should register the supply with our Food and Health Team.

Monitoring private water supplies

We carry out assessments on private water supplies including sampling to make sure the quality is similar to mains water.

The frequency and type of monitoring will be determined by the type of supply and the result of a risk assessment. 

We will take a sample from a tap used to supply water for drinking or cooking. The water is assessed for both chemical and biological parameters which are set out in the regulations. 

The risk assessment looks at a variety of factors to see if there is a significant risk of contamination to the water supply and if it is safe to drink. They must be done by the council or someone authorised to act on our behalf. The samples are analysed by a UKAS accredited lab. 

Cost of monitoring

The cost of monitoring a water supply will depend on the type of supply and what we find during the assessment. You can find examples costs below.

Activity	Typical cost	Maximum cost
Risk assessment	£64 per hour (usually 4 to 8 hours)	£500
Sampling	£100	£100
Analysis of domestic supplies (less than 50 people or less than 10 cubic meters per day)	£17	£25
Analysis of commercial supplies	£57.50	£100
Audit monitoring (for commercial supplies)	£61.50	£500
Investigation (because of a risk assessment, compliant or failure in sampling)	£100 plus the cost of analysis	£100 plus the cost of analysis
Authorisation to breach a standard while work is carried out	£100	£100

Types of private water supplies

The regulations categorise private water supplies into:

• commercial or large supplies. For example, bed and breakfast accommodation, holiday lets, pubs, dairies, hotels and food production premises. Domestic supplies to more than 50 people are included in this category
• small domestic supplies serving fewer than 50 people. This includes supplies that serve more than one property that are not commercial premises. For example a borehole that provides water to five separate dwellings
  
• single private dwellings, a supply that provides water to one dwelling only
• Private distribution networks. Further distributed mains water to third parties. For example, a customer of Yorkshire Water may distribute the water, utilising a network of pipes to a neighbour who is not a customer of Yorkshire Water
  

If your supply fails the assessment

If we find that your water supply is unsafe, we will serve a Restriction or Improvement Notice. The notice will stop the use of the water, require it to be boiled before consumption or require works to be carried out. It is an offence to fail to comply with a Notice.

If the results of monitoring show that the supply has failed to meet the standards set out in the regulations further action will be required, such as an investigation and remedial works by the supply users. Improvements might be required at the source itself, to the pipes, tanks or to fittings inside your home.

Appeals can be made to the Magistrates' Court or the Secretary of State depending on which notice is served.

If your supply extracts more than 20 cubic metres per day

Should a supply extract greater than 20 cubic metres per day, a Water Abstraction Licence is required.