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Residents and businesses taking their water supplies from a private source such as a spring, borehole, well or river must pay for certain services from 8 October.
Ensure water is safe to use
The charges, which cover sampling and analysis to ensure it is safe to use, have been held off since regulations first came into force in January 2010. Epping Forest District Council is one of the last remaining local authorities to have provided this service free of charge.
But the introduction of wider testing requirements and rising costs for analysis, done by an independent company, mean the council can no longer offer a free service.
All registered Private Water Supplies (PWS) users in the district have received a letter explaining the need to charge for the service. Around 75 homes and businesses are affected.
Under Regulation 21 of the Private Water Supply (England) Regulations 2016 the Council is permitted to recover the costs for specified activities.
New regulations
New regulations in 2018 required local authorities to monitor water across a wider range of parameters. Funding is not available to local authorities from central Government for this process and so it has led to rising costs that the council can no longer adsorb.
Charges will vary according to the supply classification and the required analysis and will be introduced gradually over the coming 12 months.
The new fees
Sampling visit
- Reg 10: Small <10m3/d and single domestic dwelling (SDD) – £40 – Charges to commence from 8 October 2022
- Reg 8: Private distribution networks – £40 – Charges to commence from 8 October 2022
- Reg 9: Large and commercial supplies >10m3/d – £60 – Charges to commence from 8 October 2022
Risk assessment
- £47 per hour – Charges to commence from 8 October 2022
Investigation
- £47 per hour – Charges to commence from 8 October 2022
Sample analysis
- Reg 9 – Lab costs with 50% contribution from the council until 7 October 2022 – Full charges to be implemented from 8 October 2022
- Reg 8 and Reg 10 including single domestic dwelling – Full Lab costs – Charges to commence from 8 October 2021
Review costs annually
The council is taking a 2-tier approach on sampling visits on the basis that some supplies require more time on site due to the greater need of monitoring. The council will review laboratory costs annually to ensure they are getting a good service and competitive price for analysis.
To reduce the financial burden for the first year the council will not be charging for specified activities (sampling visit, risk assessment, and investigation) for all supplies. For the analysis of the samples the council will contribute 50% towards laboratory fees for regulation 9 supplies only until 7 October 2022. Regulation 8 and 10 supplies will be charged full rate for analysis commencing 8 October 2021.
Those residents and businesses wishing to use a private contractor for risk assessments and sampling, must first seek approval from the council as it is the statutory authority for the enforcement of private water supplies.
Find out more
Visit the drinking water supplies section on the website.
Contact the Environmental Protection and Drainage team:
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