Private water supplies

A private water supply (PWS) is one which is not provided by a water company and which is not considered to be a “mains” supply. The water may come from a spring, well, borehole, pond, river, stream, rainwater harvesting, or a private distribution system.

Single supply:

• serves a single property
• produces less than 10m³ of water (or supplies less than 50 persons), and
• not used commercially or for public premises.

Small supply:

• serves two or more properties
• produces less than 10m³ of water, and
• not used commercially or for public premises.

Large supply:

• serves 50 or more people, or
• produces more than 10m³ per day of water, and/or
• used for commercial purposes or is a public premise

Private distribution system:

• mains supply which is further distributed to properties, by someone other than a water company, through a privately owned and maintained network of pipes

This council must keep up-to-date records of all private water supplies in the Mid Sussex district.  Please contact us to inform us of your private water supply, or to tell us about any changes about an existing supply, including any change in ownership or contact details. Dependent on the type of supply, you may also require a risk assessment and sampling.

To register your supply or request a risk assessment please email foodsafety@midsussex.gov.uk or call 01444 477433

All private water supplies can pose a potential threat to health unless they are properly protected and treated. You may not be able to tell whether your water is safe as contamination within the water may not smell, taste or appear any different in colour.

It is your responsibility to ensure the water is wholesome and does not pose a risk to human health.

Maintenance should be proactive and involve a regular, preventative, maintenance programme, which enables early identification of problems. Equipment manufacturers’ maintenance instructions must be followed as a minimum requirement. Simple checks can be used to give forewarning of problems:

• daily (or more frequent) checks on the operation of disinfection equipment
• investigate the causes of dirty or discoloured water as it could be due to system failure
• regular cleaning of filters in line with the manufacturer’s recommendations
• routine site inspections to check for signs of pollution of the water source
• structural inspections of the treatment plant, storage tanks and pipework

Maintenance should always be performed by those deemed competent (trained and/or experienced and familiar with the equipment), ideally by the supplier’s servicing contractors. At the time a water treatment system is installed, the supplier should provide training on routine operation and maintenance tasks.

All small supplies, large supplies, and private distribution systems require a risk assessment to be undertaken. This involves a site visit to identify the risks (potential failures of standards and risks to human health) and to take action to control those risks. This is carried out by the council every 5 years.

The risk assessment will also assist in identifying which additional parameters, if any, need to be sampled when testing the water supply.

Samples will normally be taken from a consumer tap and sent for analysis to a UKAS approved laboratory. The sampling frequency and the extent of analysis needed will depend on the results of the risk assessment.

Large supplies are required to undergo regular 'check monitoring', as well as more extensive 'audit monitoring' on a less frequent basis.

Small supplies are monitored at least once every five years and more frequently if shown to be necessary by the risk assessment.

Single supplies will only be risk assessed and tested at the request of the owner or occupier. However, single supplies must still register with us, so the private water supply can be placed on the public register.

In the event of a sample failure, where a supply is found to be 'unwholesome' or a 'risk to human health', a notice may be served prohibiting or restricting the supply or requiring certain work to be carried out.

• Risk assessment: up to £500
• Sampling visit:  £150
• Resampling visit: £70
• Sample analysis: £110-150 (depending on the parameters sampled for)

Further guidance on the Private Water Supplies (England) Regulations 2016 is available on the Drinking Water Inspectorate website