Private water supplies

A private water supply is any supply not provided by a statutory water company – in other words, it is not a public 'mains' supply. It may serve one property or several. In our Borough, public mains water supplies are provided by either Southern Water Services or Portsmouth Water, depending where you live.

A private water supply can include:

• water from a well, borehole, spring, stream, river, lake or pond
• water supplied by Portsmouth Water or Southern Water Services up to a specific location and further distributed by another person or organisation (known as a 'private distribution network'). Examples of private distribution networks can include caravan sites, MOD sites, industrial estates etc.

The new Private Water Supply Regulations 2009 came into force on 1st January 2010. Their revised quality standards and new monitoring duties mean we must carry out a risk assessment on specific areas of the supply. This is relevant for supplies for human consumption which on average provide 10 or more cubic metres of water per day, serve 50 or more people or are supplied/used as part of a commercial or public activity. You can see more at: http://www.dwi.gov.uk/private-water-supply/ 

Keeping your private water supply safe

We maintain a record of private water supplies in the Borough and undertake risk assessments and periodic sampling to check that they meet statutory drinking water standards. We charge for this. Our fee is made up of the 'actual costs' we incur, including our investigating officer's hourly rate plus on costs and analysis costs charged by external contractors. Our costs will not be more than the statutory maximum charges included in the Water Supplies Regulations 1991.

Private Water Supplies Regulations 2009

Statutory Maximum Charges

Activity                                                                                             Maximum charge

Risk assessment                                                                                    £500
Sampling visit (each visit)                                                                      £100
Investigation costs (following a failure)                                                  £100
Granting an authorisation                                                                      £100
Analysis of a sample taken under regulation 10                                    £25
Analysis of a sample taken during check monitoring                            £100
Analysis of a sample taken during audit monitoring                              £500

If you have registered a private water supply and would like to arrange for a sample to be taken or you would like advice on treatment methods or other matters, please contact us on 01329 236100 or at regulatory@fareham.gov.uk

You can see more information and advice about private water supplies at:

http://www.dwi.gov.uk/consumers/advice-leaflets/pws.pdf 

If your home or business is served by a private water supply and is not registered or you have any questions, please contact us. If you believe you own an unregistered private water supply in the Borough, please complete this questionnaire (80 KB) and send it to us.