You can fill out an online request for further information.

Private Water Supplies

For those who extract their private water supply from boreholes, wells or other sources not supplied by a water undertaker.

The Private Water Supplies Regulations 2018 require us to have a sampling programme for supplies drawn from private suppliers. The Regulations set the standard the water must attain, the frequency of sampling and what we test for.

A risk assessment of all water supplies serving more than one household now has to be carried out every 5 years to determine that the supply and any treatment is capable of supplying safe wholesome water.

Where inspection and sampling shows this is not the case the local authority can require improvements to be carried out to improve the quality of the water supply.

For further information on the legislation and advice on providing a safe water supply please visit Private Water Supplies (dwi.gov.uk).

Please see charges made for sampling and inspecting private water supplies within Stafford Borough.

Mains Water Supply

This includes manufacturers of foods and drinks as well as occasionally looking at domestic supply.

The Drinking Water Inspectorate, who are the national body for ensuring the quality of water, will check the quality of mains water and provide an annual publication titled 'How Good is Your Drinking Water'. Water companies do have a duty to keep us informed about the water quality in the area, and the Drinking Water Inspectorate will check that the water companies comply with this requirement.

We also examine the quality of the mains water of our food manufacturers to include breweries and other food industries. We may occasionally become involved in the testing of domestic mains water in addition to the statutory water undertaker.

If your water is supplied by a water company (e.g. Severn Trent Water) you should contact them first. If you are not happy with their response then the Council can take water samples from your home. If the water to your home is not supplied from the water mains and you have requested for us to take samples of the water, we will make a charge for this - see charges.

We will test the drinking water in your work place if we're also responsible for health and safety regulations at the work place. In other circumstances we may refer you to the Health and Safety Executive. If the work place manufactures food we may take water samples as part of our duties under food safety legislation.

Bathing Waters

We are responsible for checking the quality of all our swimming pools to include leisure centres, private health clubs, hotels and outdoor pools, hospital hydrotherapy pools, jacuzzis and paddling pools.

We check the chemical levels and microbiological quality of the water if we receive a complaint or if an owner of an establishment requests a sample to be taken, charges may apply.