• 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
• 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
• 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 […]

  • Ref: 2014/06
• 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 […]

  • Ref: 2014/01
• 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 […]

  • Ref: 2013/02
• Realising wider benefits from local authority private supply data returns

  This case study provides local authorities with an insight into the wider public health benefits that were envisaged when the new private supply regulations were introduced and the Inspectorate acquired a supervisory role on behalf of the Secretary of State. In particular, the case study examines one aim of the Regulation 13 duty on local […]

  • Ref: 2013/15
• Are local authority records of private supplies being taken into account proactively and beneficially during planning and housing decisions?

  This case study concerns a shared private water supply for domestic purposes serving four properties. The source of the supply is a borehole sunk in the 1960s from where water is pumped to a large concrete storage tank. Water then gravity feeds, by means of alkathene pipes, to each of the properties. Residents had made […]

  • Ref: 2013/16
• Illness reported by a visitor to a holiday cottage where the multi-barrier approach to water treatment had not been followed

  This case study involves a private supply to two cottages, one of which is let out as a holiday cottage. Spring water collects into a holding tank on the hillside and then passes through a coarse filter (approximately 50 microns) and feeds by gravity through plastic pipework to both houses. At the holiday cottage the […]

  • Ref: 2013/17
• 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 […]

  • Ref: 2013/18
• 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 […]

  • Ref: 2013/19
• Exercising the power to enhance monitoring as a means of overcoming obdurate owners

  This case study concerns a private water supply serving a small village, comprising dwellings, a shop, a public house and a primary school. From the spring collection chambers water is piped to a large covered storage tank where chorine is added before the water is distributed to the village. When, in January 2012, the local […]

  • Ref: 2013/20
• An example of a simple, but effective, regime for managing a private supply serving a public building

  This case study concerns a private supply serving a sports clubhouse with residential facilities and communal kitchen. A committee of volunteers runs the clubhouse. The facility is let out on an informal basis to other members and visitors. The supply to the premises is a spring. The local authority identified this as a Regulation 9 […]

  • Ref: 2013/21