Private Water Supplies

Introduction

In North Norfolk a private water supply is any water supply which is not provided by Anglian Water; i.e. it is not a "mains" supply. There are about 450 such supplies in North Norfolk. The source of the supply may be a well, borehole, spring, stream, river, lake or pond. Most of those in North Norfolk are supplied via a borehole or well. The supply may serve just one property or several properties through a network of pipes.

The regulations applying to private water supplies changed on 1 January 2010; they are now The Private Water Supplies Regulations 2009.

Summary of the Private Water Supplies Regulations 2009 ("the Regulations")

The Regulations came into force on 1 January 2010 and apply to all private water supplies (PWS) intended for human consumption. This means they apply to water for domestic purposes (e.g. drinking, cooking, food preparation and washing) and water used for food-production purposes. These supplies include:

1. Water from a well or borehole or spring, which is supplied from someone other than Anglian Water; or
2. Water supplied by Anglian Water which is then further distributed by another person (a "private distribution network"). Examples of private distribution networks will be published in the Guidance.

The PWS Regulations can be found on the OPSI website: The Private Water Supplies Regulations 2009.

The Regulations require Local Authorities to complete a risk assessment of all PWS in the first five years after the Regulations come into force, except for supplies to single non-commercial dwelling (unless a risk assessment is requested). Example risk assessments can be seen on the Government's official Private Supplies website: www.privatewatersupplies.gov.uk. This site currently relates mainly to Scotland but it will also be updated with new examples and guidance shortly.

North Norfolk District Council Responsibilities

1. The Regulations require the Council to monitor PWS. The Regulations give a clear indication of the monitoring requirements from which we develop our annual sampling programme, as follows:
   • For Small Supplies (of less than 10m³/day) the monitoring is based on the conclusions of the risk assessment.
   • Larger PWS (greater than 10m³/day), and supplies to commercial or public premises, will require check and audit monitoring from the first year.
   • Local authorities must keep records of all PWS including Private Distribution Systems.
2. We have to send information about our supplies to the Secretary of State (in practice the Drinking Water Inspectorate) for each supply by 30 June 2010 as follows:
   • the name of the supply, together with a unique identifier;
   • the type of source;
   • the geographical location using a grid reference;
   • an estimate of the number of people supplied;
   • an estimate of the average daily volume of water supplied in cubic metres;
   • the type of premises supplied;
   • detail of any treatment process, together with its location;
   • the name of our local Health Protection Agency office.

Details of additional information that we will be required to supply from January 2011 will be provided in the guidance document to be published in January 2010.

The Regulations set out procedures we must follow if we consider a PWS is unwholesome. This includes requirements to:

• investigate the cause;
• inform the PWS user(s) if the supply constitutes a potential danger to human health;
• give the user(s) advice to allow them to minimise any such potential danger.
• We will need to liaise with the Health Protection Agency to seek advice on whether there is potential danger to human health.

Where a PWS requires improvement we are encouraged to liaise informally with PWS Owner/Users to prevent a potenial danger to human health. If an informal approach does not achieve this then there are other options open to us in the Regulations, including the serving of notices.

We can make reasonable charges, to cover their costs for carrying out their duties under the Regulations, up to maximum limits set out in the Regulations.

What Happens Next?

We are planning to carry out our responsibilities under the new regulations and will publish full details here as soon as possible.

Further guidance on the Private Water Supplies Regulations 2009 will be published on the Drinking Water Inspectorate website in early January 2010.

If you require any information in the meantime, or would like a well or borehole tested for chemical or bacteriological levels, please contact the Commercial Team who will be able to arrange a sampling appointment and quote the current prices.