Private Water

Private Water Supplies are any water supply that is intended for human consumption that does not come from a mains supplied by a water undertaker (such as United Utilities).

The government claim that illness contracted from private water supplies cost the NHS £20m every year.

Local Authorities are required to regulate these supplies under the Private Water Supplies Regulations 2009 and take enforcement action as required under the regulations.

These regulations now require a Risk Assessment to be carried out every 5 years for all supplies other than those to a single domestic dwelling. Water quality testing is in two parts with audit and check parameters being sampled at a frequency according to the volume used on a daily basis. The new sampling includes additional parameters and has meant an overall increase in analysis costs.

Water sampling is only required on private water supplies serving more than one property, however we can carry out sampling to single supplies at our published rates if users want to check their water quality.

The new charges are shown below.

 Private Water Charges (PDF, 10 Kb)

If you are concerned about your supply or would like technical advice the Environmental Protection Team are available to talk about the options available.

We will shortly be sending out questionnaires to all properties served by a private water supply to update our records and to determine the sampling frequency under the new regulations.

South Lakeland District Council does not undertake water sampling if your water is provided by United Utilities. If you think there is a problem with your mains water you should contact United Utilites directly in the first instance on 0845 746 220.