Householders and businesses who get their water from private supplies such as wells or boreholes - rather than from the public mains supply - are set to see their water quality improve.
Defra has launched a new consultation asking for views on how new regulations should be applied. The new regulations will replace the Private Water Supplies Regulations 1991 and are needed to transpose European Directive 98/83/EC. This includes new standards, new monitoring requirements, and the action that can be taken when standards are not met.
Around one third of a million people in England use private water supplies for their day to day needs. Although single private dwellings account for around 60 per cent of the 42,000 private supplies, businesses also rely on them, including breweries, food manufacturers and some holiday homes and bed and breakfast accommodation. Around 25,000 of the supplies are to single private homes. An assessment by the Public Health Laboratory Service (PHLS) in 2003 concluded that 57 per cent of drinking water related disease outbreaks in the UK had been associated with the consumption of water from private water supplies.
Water Minister Phil Woolas said:
"Everyone has a right to wholesome water, and in England we have some of the best tap water in the world, with over 99 per cent of public water supplies meeting drinking water standards.
"For private supplies though, water quality varies much more widely and typically around 50 per cent of private supplies meet the standards.
"These proposals will help to ensure that water from private supplies is clean and safe, and that people can consume it with confidence and without risk to their health."
Key points in the consultation include:
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The introduction of risk assessments, in line with the World Health Organisation's 'Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality' published in 2004. These will assess the risk of contamination and the adequacy of treatment. This information can then be used to determine measures to improve the protection of the supply;
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Local authorities will retain responsibility for implementing the regulations, but with strengthened and simplified enforcement powers;
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The proposed regulations and monitoring requirements will apply to domestic private supplies of 10 m3 per day or more (or serving 50 or more persons), and to private water supplies of any size that are supplied as part of a commercial or public activity;
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They will also apply with reduced monitoring requirements to domestic private supplies of less than 10m3 per day (or serving fewer than 50 persons) used for day-to-day domestic needs; and
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The regulations propose limited powers to local authorities in respect of supplies to single private domestic homes.
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