• Dealing with common enforcement challenges: as illustrated by a case of a Regulation 18 Notice served on a large private supply to a school

    This case study concerns a boarding school with around 300 pupils and staff. The premises is situated in a suburban area, but enjoys its own expansive private grounds. The school is served by a private water supply which draws water from a borehole, into a storage tank. Chlorine dioxide is generated on-site and is dosed […]

  • 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 […]

  • 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 […]

  • 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 […]

  • 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 […]

  • Successful prosecution of a relevant person for non-compliance with a Regulation 18 Notice

    This case study involves a borehole supplying three properties, one owned by the farmer on whose land the source was located, and which then feeds two separate downstream properties. It was risk assessed and sampled by the local authority in October 2012 and it was deemed to constitute a potential danger to human health. There […]

  • Verifying that improvement have been made to a village supply

    This case study relates to a Regulation 9 spring supply feeding a village with a resident population of 200 and a temporary population of 499 attending private parties. The source comprises a number of springs and collection chambers which range in construction and condition. Most of the collection feed into a main reservoir via a […]

  • The risk to water safety posed by eco-building design and the absence of effective procedures for scrutiny of the water supply aspects of planning applications

    In August 2013, the Inspectorate provided on-site technical support to a local authority when carrying out a private supply risk assessment at premises owned by the local authority. The premises was a public building providing educational facilities, including water sports for schools in the area. The design was intended to be an eco-building and the […]

  • Private supplies require active management to ensure they are safe

    This case study concerns a private supply serving a premises used by a charity for the provision of children’s adventure holidays. When the charity purchased the property it was registered as a private supply to a single domestic dwelling and no enquiries were made about the water supply, therefore it was not appreciated that the […]

  • Why having regard to Regulation 5 is preventative and will save costly complex investigations and remedies

    During August 2013, and by arrangement with the relevant local authorities, the Inspectorate visited a number of private supplies as part of a programme of technical audit looking at the implementation of Regulation 5 of the Private Water Supplies Regulations. This regulation prohibits the use of products that are not approved or the use of […]

  • Water safety plan approach to improving the safety of a private supply

    This case study concerns a private water supply serving a large estate where the original outbuildings and stables had been converted into 34 domestic dwellings. The source of the supply was two spring collection chambers from which water is piped for 2km into a large brick-built Victorian underground reservoir (20m3).At this point water was treated […]

  • Commissioning of a private supply to a large hospital

    This case study relates to a decision by a large National Health Service (NHS) hospital to develop a private water supply. It was intended by the hospital management that this private supply would replace the existing mains water supply and be used for all domestic purposes, including drinking, food preparation and washing, by staff, patients […]