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Rural living

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Private Water Supply

11 replies

AlwaysGrateful · 22/04/2024 19:18

We have found a property we like in Burton in Lonsdale but it has a private water supply. Never owned a house that wasn't mains water connected.

Has anyone have experience of owning a house with private water supply? Any issues with this? Is water pressure ok? How often do you test it?

OP posts:
macshoto · 24/04/2024 17:01

We have one - lived with it for 10+ years now.

Happy to answer any further questions you have.

My comments would be:

  1. Don't expect it to save you a lot of money. Pumps, filters, emptying of septic tank, other plumbing issues all mount up - not expecting a big saving should only result in pleasant surprises.
  2. Testing should be done at least annually, but it think we have tested 2/3 times only - we're comfortable that our spring is uncontaminated and our filters and UV sterilisation work;
  3. Pressure very much depends on how your system is configured. We have 3bar pressure (plenty) even at the top of the house as a result of a couple of big pumps and a pressure vessel;
  4. There is obviously a bit more maintenance with a private water supply. You will want a good plumber you can rely on when there are problems (as you cannot just call the water co). Changing filters, de-acidification media (if needed), UV tubes, etc. does need doing, but isn't overly onerous.
schloss · 24/04/2024 17:19

We too have a private supply @macshoto has provided a lot of useful information but I would add the following:

Do you know if the supply is natural fed, borehole or other type of supply as it does make a difference to pressure and if pumps are required.

Testing, it is only mandatory if you have any element of commercial business, such as B&B, self catering cottages etc. I think we test ours when ever we remember, it is not very often though! When you do test it the results can be quite scary depending on the area you are in and if the supply is natural fed. The testing will pick up minerals, some of which you raise an eyebrow at, but the levels are so low the water is safe!

Is the supply on land the property owns, many rural properties the source of the water is outside of the property boundaries, there should however be a document giving you access to the water and to draw as much as you need to use in perpetuity - it is important, as you do not want to be in the situation that someone decides you no longer have access to using the water.

Pipework from the source to the house, make sure there is a map with the details on (It will not stop someone hitting the pipework when erecting a fence!) so you know where to look, if the pipes are buried and there is a leak.

We have 4 holding tanks for water, 10000ltrs outside, then 2 pressurised cold water tanks in the cellar, plus an unvented hot water tank. This means if for some reason the water does not flow from the outside tank to the house, we always have enough in the house to keep us going for quite a while. For us the main reason for no water is the natural source freezes in winter. It is only happened 3 times in over 30 years though.

There are various ways you can get pressurised water for use in the house but it will depend on how you get the water in the first place. We can run showers,, baths, have washing machines on all at the same time without a drop in pressure, and our showers are not pumped but we achieve high pressure.

We change the sediment filters ourselves, normally about once every 6 weeks but shorter or longer dependant on how dirty they are. We buy them in bulk and they cost about £1 each. The UV filter we can also change ourselves but tend to get it done when we have a service done on the filter/pumps/tanks in the house. Ours are all in the cellar.

If it is a natural fed source, you get used to it being a bit brown after it rains, but the taste far outweighs its looks! Natural water is wonderful and you never get limescale in your kettle etc.

We also have non mains drainage - we empty our sceptic tank once every couple of years. I doubt we spend more than £100 per year on water and drainage.

AlwaysGrateful · 27/04/2024 20:07

AlwaysGrateful · 22/04/2024 19:18

We have found a property we like in Burton in Lonsdale but it has a private water supply. Never owned a house that wasn't mains water connected.

Has anyone have experience of owning a house with private water supply? Any issues with this? Is water pressure ok? How often do you test it?

Thank you so much. I have asked the agent several questions as we still don't know where the water is from and who owns the supply.

OP posts:
AlwaysGrateful · 27/04/2024 20:07

macshoto · 24/04/2024 17:01

We have one - lived with it for 10+ years now.

Happy to answer any further questions you have.

My comments would be:

  1. Don't expect it to save you a lot of money. Pumps, filters, emptying of septic tank, other plumbing issues all mount up - not expecting a big saving should only result in pleasant surprises.
  2. Testing should be done at least annually, but it think we have tested 2/3 times only - we're comfortable that our spring is uncontaminated and our filters and UV sterilisation work;
  3. Pressure very much depends on how your system is configured. We have 3bar pressure (plenty) even at the top of the house as a result of a couple of big pumps and a pressure vessel;
  4. There is obviously a bit more maintenance with a private water supply. You will want a good plumber you can rely on when there are problems (as you cannot just call the water co). Changing filters, de-acidification media (if needed), UV tubes, etc. does need doing, but isn't overly onerous.

Thank you! We have asked the agent lots of questions and still waiting for a response.

OP posts:
Xenia · 27/04/2024 20:10

(The only time I experienced one was in a gorgeous scottish holiday cottage where the week before environmental health had been round as a dead sheep polluted the supply. I avoided the water but someone in our group who drank it was sick).

takemeawayagain · 27/04/2024 20:20

I wouldn't go for it. We have a house abroad and have spent thousands sorting out the supply . Much less hassle having mains.

Bluedragon86 · 27/04/2024 20:31

we are on a private supply along with 6 other houses. The taste is wonderful and I can really tell the difference from mains water. The pressure is very good and it can easily cope with more than one shower or bath running at the same time.
However we do get supply issues which with small children is extremely difficult. On a hot day when demand is high it can often go off for several hours.

macshoto · 28/04/2024 19:56

Causes of supply issues for us are generally:

  1. Pump failure (and we empty the storage tanks not realising they are no longer filling);
  2. Tree roots blocking the pipe from our spring to the first settling tank);
  3. Extended freezing weather (our tanks are in a shallow pit in the ground) and the pressure switches that trip the pumps in are vulnerable to freezing up.

We usually keep a few 25l drums of drinking water on hand just in case...

PemberleynotWemberley · 17/09/2024 21:41

We have a private supply and I grew up in a house with no mains water. Our well dried up in drought conditions and we had to sink a much deeper bore for reliable supply. Our current spring-fed supply seems pretty strong and trouble-free.
I would say it needn't be an automatic red flag, but if you make an offer make financial allowance for really thorough conveyancing - ask your solicitor to crawl over everything about your water supply and be prepared to walk away if it looks too complicated, unreliable or compromised in any way.

Pendle1960 · 25/01/2025 13:34

How do we get our tank cleared of sediment? It is at the top of a field at the rear of our properties so access is difficult

macshoto · 31/01/2025 15:17

Pendle1960 · 25/01/2025 13:34

How do we get our tank cleared of sediment? It is at the top of a field at the rear of our properties so access is difficult

How we do ours is:

  1. Submersible electric pump to empty the tank. If you have lots of sediment you probably want a 'dirty water' pump. If the tank is too far away from a power source (e.g. your system is gravity fed) you may need to get a petrol or diesel pump, with a 'sump' attachment.

  2. We had a hose pipe attachment cut into the inlet pipe to our tank, pointing downwards, which then enables us to use a hose pipe and water from the source to spray off any residual sediment inside the tank and pump it out.

  3. We then sterilise the tank with Milton (or similar) and rinse again to eliminate all the sterilising agent.

In the case of our lower settling tank this does also involve climbing into the tank wearing waders - and is a two person job from a safety perspective.

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