Owning or using a private water supply

Having a private water supply means you get water for your home or business from a source that is not the public water supply, known as the mains water network.

Sources for private water supplies include:

lochs
boreholes
streams

Costs and responsibilities

Installing and maintaining a private water supply can be expensive and take a long time.

Your responsibilities as a private water supply owner can include:

registering the supply
maintaining the equipment
treating your water so it's safe to use
reporting problems with your supply

If you rely on a private supply, you need to plan how you’ll get water in an emergency like a drought or storm.

Get advice before setting up a private water supply

Due to the cost and responsibilities involved with a private water supply, you should consider connecting to the mains water network instead.

This will mean:

Scottish Water will have responsibility for your supply
your supply will be good quality and more reliable

View Scottish Water's information on connecting to the mains network.

If you still want a private supply, get advice from your local council's environmental health department first. They can tell you about registering, risk assessing and testing the supply.

You may be able to get a grant of up to £800 to help with the costs of improving a private supply.

Visit your local council's website

Thanks for your feedback

Information

Costs and responsibilities

Get advice before setting up a private water supply