Private water supply

Graces7

had the council round yesterday finalising re the complaint re the illegal slurry business.

we have a private well. he asked if the water was treated and more than hinted that it was going to be made compulsory. chlorine.

can they do this on private property?

The_Conductor

Graces7 wrote: »

had the council round yesterday finalising re the complaint re the illegal slurry business.

we have a private well. he asked if the water was treated and more than hinted that it was going to be made compulsory. chlorine.

can they do this on private property?

If they receive a complaint- as part of their investigations, they can take water samples and test them for contamination. If the contamination level is above a certain level- they can issue you with an enforcement order, removing the source from consumption until you take remedial action. In the case of a private well- remedial action may entail installing a large tank, which the well water is pumped in, its then subjected to a treatment known as 'shock chlorination' before being pumped back into the well again. This cycle may be repeated a number of times over the course of weeks/months- until the council or authority are satisfied that the choliform levels have stabilised at a level below harmful limits. It doesn't have to be a permanent measure- normally if/when levels stabilise- subject to periodic inspection, its possible the treatment may not need be repeated.

If you talk to the environment health officer for the council/authority concerned- they are best placed to explain the methods/mechanisms that they employ- and what they see as the long term solution for the issue (if, indeed, a longer term manner of dealing with it is necessary).

Graces7

The_Conductor wrote: »

If they receive a complaint- as part of their investigations, they can take water samples and test them for contamination. If the contamination level is above a certain level- they can issue you with an enforcement order, removing the source from consumption until you take remedial action. In the case of a private well- remedial action may entail installing a large tank, which the well water is pumped in, its then subjected to a treatment known as 'shock chlorination' before being pumped back into the well again. This cycle may be repeated a number of times over the course of weeks/months- until the council or authority are satisfied that the choliform levels have stabilised at a level below harmful limits. It doesn't have to be a permanent measure- normally if/when levels stabilise- subject to periodic inspection, its possible the treatment may not need be repeated.

If you talk to the environment health officer for the council/authority concerned- they are best placed to explain the methods/mechanisms that they employ- and what they see as the long term solution for the issue (if, indeed, a longer term manner of dealing with it is necessary).

not sure i explained this right; sorry.

this is a private well serving this house only.

they were here because a farmer who owns land opposite sprayed slurry well within the legal buffer zone.

they took samples but what we do if there is contamination is surely not their concern.

i am concerned as for medical reasons i cannot have chlorinated water.

they were hinting at a much broader issue that all and every private well must be chlorinated which seems draconian and invasive.

the one being served with an enforcement order is the farmer..

thank you!

The_Morrigan

Graces7 aren't you a tenant? This is your landlords issue to resolve, I would have thought.

angeldaisy

We have a similar problem at home, private well system and we are surrounded by farmers.

So what we did was fit a water filter to the drinking water of the house. We now have a seperate tap which is a reverse osmosis system and we just use this for drinking and cooking.