As a farmer or grower, you know just how vital a steady supply of water is for your home and business. After a milder winter, Wales has just seen its fourth driest spring on record – the driest since 1944. Although recent downpours have helped top up supplies a little, more hot and dry weather is on the horizon. That means if you rely on your own private water source, it's time to take stock and be ready.
About 67,000 people across Wales – many of them running farms or horticultural businesses – depend on water from boreholes, springs, wells, rivers, or lakes. If your water doesn’t come through the mains pipes, you’re not alone.
Local authorities are responsible for regulating and carrying out risk assessments, monitoring, and ensuring the water meets quality standards for most private water supplies, especially if the water is for people to drink. If you haven’t already registered your supply, make sure you do – it’s the best way to get help quickly if your water runs low or gets contaminated. Remember, in a pinch, your local authority is the first port of call – not the local water companies Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water or Hafren Dyfrdwy.
Have a plan
While your local authority and water company are on hand to offer advice and some emergency help, they are not obliged to assist with alternative supplies for commercial private water supplies or large domestic private supplies (greater than 10,000 litres a day). The day-to-day running of your private water supply is really in your hands, and you’ll need to make sure you have your own drought contingency plans in place such as having some bottled water for drinking on standby, and a water tank or bowser for other uses such as washing and for livestock to drink.
Short term support available
If you’ve got your own private water supply, it’s up to you to keep it running and safe to drink. But if the well runs dry or your water quality dips – especially in dry spells – contact your local authority. They will assess the situation and have powers to step in if required.
Not sure which local authority covers your area? Simply enter your postcode at GOV.WALES | Find your local authority to find out. If you live in the Hafren Dyfrdwy (Wrexham or Powys) area visit Hafren Dyfrdwy | Private supplies – there you’ll find your local authority, get the email address for their private supplies team, and a link that takes you straight to your local authority private supplies page for further advice.
If needed, the local authority will try to help. They may ask the local water company for assistance. For example, through the local authority the Hafren Dyfrdwy water fittings team will try to advise people with private supplies in their area on their private networks. To offer additional reassurance, Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water and Hafren Dyfrdwy have agreed to donate a quantity of bottled water to local authorities in their areas for domestic emergencies. Any further request would be assessed and could incur a cost.
In the longer term, if you’re interested in switching to a mains supply then you can approach your local water company to see if this will be possible.
Boost the reliability of your supply
With the weather getting more unpredictable – hot, dry summers one year and soggy winters the next – it pays to be prepared. In addition to having a plan, there’s plenty you can do to help make sure your water keeps flowing, no matter what Mother Nature throws at you.
Don’t delay, here are some practical ways to boost the reliability of your supply:
• Ensure you understand how your private supply works and be able to get a qualified water engineer to provide assistance as required.
• Clean or replace filters as required to ensure water quality and minimise strain on components.
• Regularly check and repair leaks in pipes and irrigation systems.
• Have spare parts and/or backups available for critical components, especially if they are hard to source to limit downtime.
• Build a water storage pond.
• Set up a rainwater harvesting system.
• Adopt water efficient irrigation techniques and livestock watering systems.
• Plant cover crops and/or spread mulch to improve the soil structure and water retention to reduce irrigation requirements.