Private Water Supplies

Improvement Grants  |  Risk Assessments  |  Maintenance   |   Advice to users and visitors   |  Sampling   |  Contact Details

Apply for improvement grant  Grant payment mandate

In Argyll and Bute many premises, both private and commercial, get their water from a private supply. A private water supply is one which is not provided by Scottish Water. A private water supply may come from a loch, burn, spring, well, river, pond, borehole or a combination of these.

The supply may serve only one property or a number of different properties. In Argyll and Bute we have approximately 1600 private water supplies serving over 4000 inhabitants and many more visitors.

Private water supplies are, by their nature, very vulnerable to contamination that may cause waterborne infections or other ill effects. Contamination can be bacteriological in nature, from faecal matter such as human sewage or animal droppings, or may arise from chemical sources, such as fertilizer run-off from fields or deterioration of distribution pipe work.

The Private Water Supplies (Scotland) Regulations 2006 came into force on 3 July 2006 and replaced The Private Water Supplies (Scotland) Regulations 1992. Scottish Statutory Instrument documents explaining the latest regulations can be viewed through this website: The Private Water Supplies (Notices) (Scotland) Regulations 2006 and The Private Water Supplies (Grants) (Scotland) Regulations 2006. Under these regulations private water supplies are defined as either:

• Type A - Supplies serving 50 or more persons, or supplies to commercial or public activities irrespective of size, or
• Type B - Supplies serving only domestic premises with less than 50 persons supplied.

Type A supplies fall within the provisions of the E.C. Drinking Water Directive (98/83/EC) which require each supply to be sampled and analysed for a wide range of parameters at least once a year.  Commercial premises are also required to display an information notice.  A copy of this notice can be downloaded here or obtained from your local Environmental Health office.

Staff from Regulatory Services routinely monitor these high risk supplies as part of their statutory duties. The information gathered is made available for public scrutiny in the form of a Public Register of Private Supplies.

Type B supplies are required to comply with a limited range of parameters that are defined in the regulations and will not form part of a statutory sampling programme.

If you have a query relating to Private Water Supplies please contact us at your local area office, email us at envhealth@argyll-bute.gov.uk or for more information log on to www.privatewatersupplies.gov.uk

Improvement Grants for Private Water Supplies

Grants of up to £800 are available from the Council to help you improve your private water supply irespective of it being a type A or B supply. This may include the installation of treatment equipment, or for the provision of a new private water supply or domestic distribution system (within the meaning of the 2006 Regulations).

The Grant Scheme is non-means tested and you may be eligible for financial assistance if:

• Your home or business is in the Argyll and Bute area and served by a private water supply;
• The private water supply is the main or sole source of water for human consumption purposes to these premises; and
• Your private water supply is in need of improvement to bring it up to modern standards.

If you share your supply with a number of neighbouring premises, you may wish to consider making a joint application. A joint application can be submitted in respect of all the premises served by the supply, by you and the other owners or occupiers acting together. In the majority of cases, a joint approach is likely to provide the most effective long-term solution to improve your water quality.

The cost of improving a private supply can vary and there will be instances where the supply requires work that exceeds the £800 grant. In such cases, it will be your responsibility to meet the additional costs. We can provide information and advice about the Grant Scheme and help you complete the application form.

You should not start any of the improvement works before your application is approved and we have agreed that the expenditure is necessary. A risk assessment of your supply will be carried out by an Officer from this department to establish the details of improvements required to conform to the Private Water Supplies (Regulations) 2006. There will be a charge for this, but you are on a type B supply then this is carried out as part of the grant scheme for free.

There are some exceptions to Grant approval, the most common being:

• New builds.
• Houses under Closing Orders, Demolition Orders or a Dangerous Building Notice.
• Empty or unoccupied premises,
• Connection to the mains - a grant may be available to connect to the mains in some circumstances under different legislation.  If the property is your domestic home then please contact us for further information.

Further details of these restrictions and others can be supplied upon request.

For initial enquiries regarding the Grant, or any of the information above, please contact your local area office or email:envhealth@argyll-bute.gov.uk

Grant Application and Related Forms

Private Water Supply Grant Application Form -

Please print and complete this form and return it to the address shown. You should read the guidance notes before completing the form. Once your application form has been received we will contact you to discuss the next steps. Do not start any works until you have received confirmation from us to go ahead.

Private Water Supply Grant Application and Process Guidance -

Please read this note before you complete your application form or carry out any work.

Private Water Supply Mandate Form -

Please use this form if you wish for your grant money to be paid direct to your contractor.

Risk Assessments for Private Water Supplies

If you are on a Type A supply your supply may have already been risk assessed, if not please contact your area office to arrange a visit. If you are on a Type B supply then you will need to submit a grant application form and a member of staff will contact you to arrange a visit (should you at a later date not go ahead with the grant then a charge may be made for this, otherwise it will be free)

At the risk assessment visit a member of our staff along with yourself or other relevant and/or interested persons, will look at the whole supply from the source to the taps. The visit is likely to take 1 - 4 hours, depending on the complexity of the supply. The process is designed to include all types and sizes of supply, it highlights possible contamination routes and increases awareness of the potential risks and the importance of ongoing maintenance amongst users. The benefits include an impartial investigation of whole supply and sound advice regarding suitable treatment. A feedback letter and report will detail improvements, if required. This letter will provide the basis for you obtaining quotes from suitable tradesmen to carry out work in your private water supply grant and also give you valuable information on looking after your supply.
For more information regarding private water supplies you can go to www.privatewatersupplies.gov.uk

Advice on Maintaining your Private Water Supply

In order to keep your private water supply functioning correctly you need to keep it clean and well maintained. For further advice please contact your area office or follow the link to the Scottish Government site Private Water Supplies Advice

Advice to users and visitors   

If premises are served by a private water supply then the water is not provided by a statutory water undertaker – such as Scottish Water. This may mean that the amount of treatment the water has had may be different to the water that many people on a public supply are used to. For example, a private water supply may not have chlorine added to it to kill any potentially harmful micro-organisms, although other treatment may have been applied to achieve a similar effect.

If you have a commercial premises served by a private supply in Scotland you are required by law to display a Drinking Water Notice bringing the fact to the attention of all users of the supply. This includes all holiday letting premises and self catering units/caravans. This notice brings to your attention that the supply is a private one. You can then consider whether you need to take additional precautions to protect your health or the health of your family.

Although the quality of private water supplies is often acceptable for drinking and other purposes this may not always be the case. Under certain circumstances the quality may be lower than you would expect from a public supply. There are occasions when there is an increased risk of harmful bacteria affecting any supply. This is most likely to happen after heavy rainfall or snowmelt, or when the water is highly coloured.

Some people are more vulnerable to harmful bacteria than others. These include:

• Bottle-fed infants
• The very young
• The elderly
• Anyone whose immune system might be compromised.

For these people we recommend that you always boil water used for the following purposes:

• Drinking, including preparing cold drinks and ice,
• Brushing teeth,
• Preparing food, particularly that which will be eaten uncooked such as salads and fruit.

We would also recommend that you boil water used for the above purposes for use by anyone after periods of heavy rainfall or snow melt, or if the water is particularly coloured (as this can affect water treatment efficiency).

Water needs only to be brought to the boil. It can then be stored in a covered container in the fridge for up to 48 hours. Alternatively, you can use bought bottled water for these purposes.

If you decide to use bottled water, remember that any water bottled water labelled “natural mineral water” may contain too much sodium for babies. Check the label to make sure the figure for sodium (Na) isn’t higher than 200milligrams (mg) per litre.

If you require more information with regard to the drinking water quality or treatment on a particular supply then the owner or owner’s representative should be able to assist.

If you still have concerns then please contact us.  Further information is also available on the Scottish Government website at: http://www.privatewatersupplies.gov.uk/private_water/23.html

Sampling of Water Supplies

Type A Supplies are routinely sampled as part of our statutory sampling programme.  The results of these samples are available on request.

If you wish for your water supply to be tested please contact us to discuss your requirements.  Tests will be recommended dependent on the reason fro testing, eg house sale, specific concerns/complaints, planning permission being sought, suspected illness.  There may be a charge for such tests and this information will be provided to you before you decide to go ahead.