New regulations relating to drinking water supplied from wells,
boreholes and other private water supplies, came into force on 1
January 2010.
The regulations require Local Authorities to complete a risk
assessment of all private water supplies in the first five years
after the regulations come into force, except for supplies to
'single domestic properties' unless a risk assessment is
requested.
Single domestic properties on a private water supply
If your well or borehole serves only one property, you will be
classed as a 'single domestic property' and therefore are not
required to have routine sampling by the Council under the new
regulations.
If you live in a single domestic property supplied by a private
water supply and wish to have your drinking water sampled and
analysed, it is recommended that you contact one of the analytical
laboratories or water treatment companies to carry this out for
you.
Suitable companies can be found on
Yell.com (new
window) or in the Yellow Pages under ‘Analytical laboratories’
or ‘Water engineers’. Please be aware that you will have to pay the
company for this service.
Other properties
Other properties supplied by a private water supply, which are
covered by the new regulations, require a risk assessment to
determine the frequency of sampling. We intend to contact all
properties with private water supplies (other than single domestic
properties) on our records in the near future.
Maintaining your water supply
We strongly recommend that private water supplies and associated
loft tanks are properly maintained to prevent contamination of your
drinking water. You may wish to employ a water treatment company to
carry out maintenance for you. Names of companies who carry out
this kind of work can be found
on Yell.com
(new window) or in the Yellow Pages under 'Water engineers' or
'Water treatment'.
If you already have water treatment devices installed we
recommend you maintain these in accordance with manufacturer's
instructions.
If you have an enquiry relating to private water supplies please
contact us on 01394 444624 or email
environmental.protection@suffolkcoastal.gov.uk.