Pollution Control

All private water supplies can pose a threat to health unless they are properly protected and treated. You may not be able to tell if your water is safe as contamination may not show by smell, taste or colour of the water.

You should find out as much as you can about your private water supply including;

• Where the source is
• Who is responsible for its upkeep and maintenance
• How does it get into your property
• Is the water treated
• Is the treatment system in good order sand serviced regularly

The Private Water Supplies (Wales) Regulations 2010 came into force on 4th February 2010 (the Regulations). There are three types of supplies - large, small and private distribution.

Large Supplies

The Regulations apply to all private water supplies providing 10m³/day or more; or serving 50 or more persons and to all private water supplies, irrespective of their size, that are part of a commercial or public activity such as bed and breakfast establishments. These are referred to as ‘large supplies' (Reg 10 supply under the Regulations) and there are approximately 170 within Pembrokeshire. There are two types of monitoring for large supplies - ‘check monitoring' which is carried out on relatively frequently for a few very important parameters and ‘audit monitoring' which is carried out less frequently for the remaining parameters. The Regulations place a duty on Local Authorities to carry out a risk assessment every five years and to monitor regularly all large supplies in accordance with specified frequencies to determine compliance with the standards.

Small Supplies

Private water supplies providing less than 10m³/day; or serving less than 50 persons, provided that they are not part of a commercial or public activity, are referred to as ‘small supplies' of which there are over 800 in Pembrokeshire. Users of a supply to a single dwelling are exempt from these new Regulations but can ask the Local Authority to carry out a risk assessment and/or monitoring and, if they do so, the Local Authority must comply with the request.

Private Distribution Systems

A private distribution system, also referred to as a Reg 8 supply under the Regulations (a mains water onward distribution system), usually conveys water to individual premises within a site, for example, holiday campsites, private estates etc. In such cases the site owner or manager, not the water undertaker, is responsible for the supply which is provided to premises through a private distribution system and for the quality of the water supply at consumer's taps. 

All private water supplies are required to meet the standards in the Regulations. When the monitoring carried out by a Local Authority detects a failure to meet a standard, the Local Authority must carry out an investigation to determine the cause of the failure and, unless it is trivial and unlikely to recur, then ensure that appropriate action is taken to remedy the cause so that the standard is met. Advice on water quality can be found on the Drinking Water Inspectorate (opens in a new tab) website. 

Coping without a Private Water Supply

Guidance has been published by the Drinking Water Inspectorate on coping without a private water supply in extreme hot weather (opens in a new tab)

Guidance on sufficiency of your private water supply

Current Private Water Supply charges:

•  Visit £100
•  Cap test sample £72
•  Audit sample £94
•  Audit & check sample £137
•  Reg 10 (Shared Supplies) £25
•  Reg 10 (Shared Supplies including visit & bacteriological) £125
•  Bacteriological (Non Regs) £16.17
•  Risk Assessment £160

Swimming Pools/Spas:

• Visit £54
• Bacteriological analysis £19.01

Any queries on Private Water Supplies please contact the Pollution Control Team: