• Case study 3 – Identification of a new Regulation 8 supply, and the need for local authorities and water companies to adopt a joint approach.

  In May a local authority in the Midlands became aware that the occupier of a single domestic dwelling in their area served by a borehole had ceased using the water for domestic purposes because they had problems in maintaining it. To maintain a supply to the property, the occupier connected into their neighbour’s mains water […]

  • Ref: 2015/03
• Case study 5 – Reinforcing the challenges associated with identifying Regulation 8 supplies and the importance of fully understanding the Regulations to ensure the correct response during an investigation.

  This case study relates to a water quality concern reported by a water company customer in Gloucestershire about a mains supply which on investigation revealed unusual supply arrangements which had some characteristics of a Regulation 8 supply. The consumer lives on a farm which receives a mains supply from the local water company. The owner […]

  • Ref: 2015/05
• Case study 6 – Inappropriate use of a private supply by a food business can give rise to substantive economic, reputational and regulatory costs

  This case study relates to the use of a contaminated private water supply by a large food factory that resulted in the authorities issuing a Detention of Food Notice and the granting, by magistrates, of a Food Condemnation Order under Section 9 of the Food Safety Act 1990. The consequential direct costs incurred by the […]

  • Ref: 2015/06
• Case study 7 – An outbreak of Escherichia coli 0157 infection amongst users of a private water supply when staying in holiday accommodation

  This case study relates to the circumstances surrounding illness suffered by members of three independent family groups holidaying at two cottages served by a private supply in summer 2015. The problem was identified by epidemiological surveillance. The index case was a seven-year-old male member of a family group of 22 individuals that had been staying […]

  • Ref: 2015/07
• Case study 8 – Risks associated with change of use from a supply for non-domestic purposes to domestic purposes

  This case study illustrates some examples of the legacy of historical deficiencies of the private water supplies legislation prior to the current legislation. This is illustrated in relation to a regional industrial group of Regulation 9 supplies located in south-east England. These supplies serve an area of salad growing nurseries, which supply produce to some […]

  • Ref: 2015/08
• Treatment requirements at a public building

  In September 2014, the Inspectorate was contacted by a local authority for advice on the treatment of water supplying a wedding venue, which accommodates up to 250 guests. Since the premises, (a large converted country house) holds community functions, the supply constitutes a Regulation 9 supply, as a public building. The supply was not being […]

  • Ref: 2014/14
• Illegal connection

  On 13 November 2014, a water company meter reader visited a farm near Pickering in North Yorkshire to take a meter reading, and discovered the meter was running backwards. The meter reader also identified that there was a private borehole on site being used for domestic purposes, and arranged for a Water Regulations Inspector to […]

  • Ref: 2014/11
• What constitutes a ‘commercial premises’ within the context of the legislation?

  This case study relates to a common source of confusion where terminology relating to public and commercial use is often misunderstood and wrongly applied. It cites an enquiry which provides a useful opportunity to put into context the scope of the Regulations in terms of how Regulations 8, 9 and 10 are interpreted by local […]

  • Ref: 2014/13
• Determining the validity of historic agreements concerning the source of a private water supply

  In June 2014, a water company was contacted by a local authority about concerns they had about a drinking water supply as a result of carrying out a risk assessment. The source for the supply appeared to be located on land owned by the water company where there were cattle grazing and using a watering […]

  • Ref: 2014/03
• Disconnection of a supply

  This case study relates to a Regulation 9 supply to a large country estate in Hampshire, the source of which is a borehole located on a parcel of land upon which there are various cottages and farms. The supply serves 28 properties and businesses directly (150 – 160 persons), and of these six customers who […]

  • Ref: 2014/09
• Action in the event of a failure at a single domestic dwelling

  This case study relates to a rural supply fed from a spring directly to a farmhouse, and a farm on which only the resident farmer works, therefore constituting a single domestic dwelling. There is no treatment on the supply, and the farmer approached the local authority to take a sample to satisfy the farm assurance […]

  • Ref: 2014/12
• Remediation of a Regulation 9 borehole supply leading to the creation of a new Regulation 8 supply – an exception to the guidance on Regulation 8 supplies?

  This case study relates to a private borehole on a farm estate that also serves 27 residential properties; some owned by the estate, with the remainder in private ownership. Borehole water is pumped to two large reservoirs that provide supplies to each of the properties by gravity. The standby backup supply to the reservoirs was […]

  • Ref: 2014/10