If you get your water supply from a source other than a water company, such as Thames Water or South East Water, you are probably using a private water supply. In these cases water may be extracted from a well, borehole, spring, river, stream, lake or pond, on private land.
The law relating to private water supplies
Private water supplies in England and Wales are controlled by the Private Water Supply (England)(Amendment) Regulations 2018. The Public Protection Partnership (PPP) is responsible for ensuring the safety of private water supplies across Bracknell Forest and West Berkshire. We are required to submit an annual report of our monitoring and risk assessment activities to the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI). The DWI is the organisation with overall responsibility for reassuring the public that water is safe to drink.
Registering a private water supply
Your private water supply must be registered with us. If you have recently moved to a property or you believe your supply to be private (i.e. you do not pay a water company for your supply) please complete our Private Water Supplies questionnaire found below in Associated documents and submit to ehadvice@westberks.gov.uk.
Risk assessments and monitoring
Local authorities carry out risk assessments of certain categories of private water supplies at least once every five years. We are also required to monitor supplies by arranging water sampling and analysis. The frequency and type of sampling is dependent on the outcome of the risk assessment.
Further information about our responsibilities as a local authority is available in the official DWI guidance and at DWI.
Fees
There is a fee payable for carrying out a risk assessment and for the sampling and analysis of private water supplies. The cost of this is detailed in our Fees and charges summary.
If you have a supply which needs testing or you need some advice on how to manage your supply please contact us.
