• Registration of private water supplies

  Introduction Regulation 14 (16 in Wales) of The Private Water Supplies Regulations requires a local authority to make and keep records of every private supply in its area.  This then forms a register from which it can discharge its duties in the interest of safeguarding public health.  Clearly though, protection of consumers in this way […]
• Deficiencies in proactive risk assessment on a regulation 9 supply

  Background In April 2024 the Inspectorate was invited to discuss water quality issues at a regulation 9 private water supply with members of the local authority, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), and the local water company. In a residential area of the West Midlands, a complex of interwar apartments was being served by an […]
• Purchasing a property served by a private supply

  Background The provision of water to a property via a private supply is often because a connection to a public supply is simply not feasible. This can be for a variety of reasons but is usually ultimately due to a property’s isolated (and usually rural) location, or the local topography. This can result in a […]
• Hospital case revisited

  Background The Chief Inspector’s annual report for private water supplies for the calendar year 2013 included a case study concerning a decision by an NHS hospital in the north of England to develop a new large private water supply. The intention was that this private supply would replace the existing mains water supply and be […]
• A public supply that switched to being a private water supply

  Background It is not unusual for owners and users of private water supplies to seek a connection to the public supply system to provide an alternative, or a back-up arrangement to a private water supply. This is often the case where private supplies are failing, unreliable or where it overcomes difficulties in managing and maintaining […]
• Long standing discoloured water problems at Trecwn village – Pembrokeshire

  Intractable water quality issues The private water supply main from its source to Trecwn village and the connections from it, were transferred on sale to those that bought the properties as set out in their title deeds. This meant that householders were liable for any improvement to the private water supply infrastructure. The private supply is […]
• Deficiencies in water supplies on new housing developments

  Introduction In April 2023 the Inspectorate was made aware of an MP’s letter regarding an ongoing water supply problem at a new housing estate in her constituency. The residents had been without a reliable supply of safe drinking water for the past ten months causing distress to those affected. The supply of water to the […]
• A complaint about a local authority not discharging its duty under the regulations

  Introduction In September 2023 the Inspectorate was contacted by a private water supply consumer in England, who wished to complain that his local authority had not tested his supply in fourteen years and had never risk assessed it. The consumer was in the process of selling his house and anxious that the sale might fall […]
• Difficulties in securing funding for the remediation of a long standing failing supply

  Introduction This case study concerns a private water supply in North Yorkshire which serves a row of nine cottages, collectively called “Aysdalegate.” The supply presents a potential danger to human health as it is of risk of ingress from microbial pathogens by virtue of E. coli detections in samples collected from the supplied houses. The […]
• A supply provided at a public waterspout – case study update

  Introduction  The ambiguity around ownership, regulation and who is responsible for water available to the public sometimes is more complex than might be expected.  One such case concerned a waterspout fed from a spring located at a roadside within central England. Being available to the public, protection of public health is central to assuring the […]
• Investigation following a breach of the lead standard on a regulation 9 private water supply

  Introduction  The detection of lead at any concentration from a private water supply used for human consumption is a cause for concern. Any lead concentrations found above the regulatory standard of 10 µg/L must be regarded as a potential danger to human health. The local authority must investigate and serve a notice in accordance with […]
• The Inspectorate’s powers and remit with regard private water supplies

  In November 2022 the Chief Inspector of Drinking Water received an email from an individual wishing to report the poor quality and insufficiency of the private water serving his family in a single property. The matter initially arose in February 2022 as a result of insufficiency following storm Eunice whereupon it was discovered that the […]