Spring, well or borehole? Identify your private water source

The label is a starting point

A spring is groundwater emerging at the surface and usually collected in a chamber. A well is commonly a wider, shallower excavation into groundwater. A borehole is drilled and cased. Properties can use combinations, storage or a source located on somebody else's land, so ask for records rather than relying on an estate-agent description.

Trace the route safely

Start with plans, invoices, the council, the previous owner and service companies. From accessible ground, record the source location, collection or headworks, storage, treatment room, sample taps and pipe route. Do not enter a well or chamber, remove a source cover or alter treatment to investigate.

Useful questions include:

who owns the source and land around it;
which properties or businesses share it;
where surface water could reach it;
what activities occur in the catchment;
how water reaches storage and treatment;
which alarms and shut-offs exist; and
who acts when quantity or quality changes.

Source risk does not stop at the chamber

DWI guidance says contamination can occur at the source, in treatment or in the distribution network. Springs and wells can be influenced by surface water; borehole headworks and casing can also be damaged. A tidy treatment room does not remove the need to protect the catchment, and a protected source does not remove the need to maintain treatment and pipes.

For a house purchase

Request the most recent council risk assessment where one exists, laboratory reports with sample points, source and pipe plans, rights and responsibilities, electricity arrangements, treatment manuals, service records and known outage history. Ask the local authority what it holds and whether the proposed use changes how the supply is treated under national rules.