Drinking water sampling
Summary
For water quality or supply issues relating to mains water, please contact your water provider. Anglian Water supplies most of the mains water within South Norfolk, but Essex & Suffolk Water supply some areas in the east of the district. Links to their websites can be found under 'external links' below.
Private Water Supply:
A private water supply is any water supply which is not provided by a company such as Anglian Water; i.e. it is not a 'mains' supply. (Usually it is from a borehole or well).
South Norfolk Council officers carry out a monitoring programme for private water supplies under the provisions set out in the Private Water Supplies Regulations 2009. Our sampling programme means that most domestic private supplies will be sampled once every five years. There may be a charge for analysis of private water supplies (see blow).
How to request the water sampling service
- Contact us online or by e-mail, telephone or letter (our details are at the foot of this page);
- Information we will need from you:
- your full name;
- your full address including your postcode;
- your home telephone number and a number which we can contact you on during normal office hours if this is different;
- your email address (if applicable);
- how you would like us to respond to you, and;
- details of your request.
Further information
Private water supplies
These are water supplies that come from a privately owned well, borehole or spring, rather than from the public mains. Under the Private Water Supplies Regulations 2009 councils are required to monitor these supplies.
Where a private water supply only serves a single household, the supply is not covered by the Private Water Supplies Regulations 2009. However South Norfolk Council has chosen currently to sample 20% of the single supplies in our district every year free of charge. If you are the owner/occupier of a single household on a private water supply and would like to have your water tested more frequently we can sample but we will charge for this to cover our costs.
For water sources which supply more than one dwelling, or any commercial or public activity (such as business units, bed and breakfast accommodation, schools etc.) we are required to carry out a risk assessment. This will look at factors such as the type of source, if/how the water is treated and how many people drink it. How often we test the water and the list of things we test it for will depend on the outcome of the risk assessment. We have to charge for this service.
Why should a Private Water Supply be sampled?
Even if water looks clear, untreated water can contain micro-organisms or chemical contamination which may not be detectable by taste or smell. Some micro-organisms, such as coliforms, are just indicators that contamination may be present. Others such as Cryptosporidium, Giardia, Campylobacter and E.coli can cause vomiting and diarrhoea or more severe illnesses in some cases.
If you live in older housing it is sensible to take precautions as you may have lead pipes. Some types of water, particularly soft water (from either public or private water supplies) can dissolve lead from your household pipes. It is important to minimise the exposure of babies and young children to lead and you should take action to avoid high levels of lead while you are pregnant and before your child is sis old. A simple way to reduce the risk is to run off any water that has been standing in pipe work for a long time, for example by running the tap for at least a minute before drawing water to drink.
You, your family and visitors to your home or business all have a right to expect clean, safe drinking water. Many private water supplies meet the regulatory requirements in England and Wales. However, there are a number of groups who may be at risk from microbiological contamination in a private water supply, such as visitors and employees who normally drink mains water at home; children; elderly people and people with a weakened immune system.
How will my supply be sampled?
Regulation 10 - This applies to domestic supplies where the volume of water used is 10 cubic meters of less per day, and is not used for commercial purposes. We only need to sample for a limited number of parameters; plus anything else the risk assessment identified as being necessary.
Where more than one private dwelling is served by the bore or well, we must sample at least every five years and more frequently if the risk assessment shows necessary.
Regulation 9 - this applies to all commercial supplies no matter what their water usage, and to domestic supplies where their water usage is more than 10 m3/day.
There are two types of sampling that we will carry out. In the regulations theses are given the terms Check monitoring and Audit monitoring. Audit monitoring can involve testing for a long list of parameters but the risk assessment is used to determine which are required. Check Monitoring involves sampling for a smaller number of standard parameters. The number of sampling visits required depend upon the volume of water used and the results of the risk assessment.
What sorts of improvements might be needed?
Another change introduced by the regulations is that if your water does not meet the same standards as the public water supply, we are required to investigate the cause and require larger or commercial supplies to be improved. We have a duty to restrict the use of any supply which is found to be a potential danger to human health.
Improvements might be required at the source itself, or to the pipes or fittings inside your home, for example:
- Ensure the top of the bore is securely covered to prevent dirty water, animals dropping or anything else from entering the water.
- Install appropriate water treatment system to ensure satisfactory microbiological quality and where required, water filters (to remove iron, nitrates, manganese etc)
Please do not hesitate to contact the Environmental Protection Team if you have any questions.
Related pages on this website
External links
Drinking Water Inspectorate: private water supplies
The Drinking Water Inspectorate offers advice and good practice guidelines for maintaining your own private water supply.
Anglian Water
Website with contact details for Anglian Water, the main water supplier for South Norfolk.
Essex & Suffolk Water
Another water supplier for parts of the east of our district.
Contact us
| contact officer/team: | Environmental Support Officer |
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| web: | online enquiry form |
| email: | envserv@s-norfolk.gov.uk |
| freephone: | 0808 168 4444 |
| telephone: | 01508 533830 |
| minicom/textphone: | 01508 533622 |
| address: | South Norfolk Council South Norfolk House Swan Lane Long Stratton Norwich NR15 2XE |
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If you need information in large print, audio cassette, braille, translation (written or verbal) or signed interpretation, let us know when you contact us.
Last updated on: 09 August 2011