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UnRegulated Private Water Supply

Purpose Of This Leaflet

The European Union Drinking Water Directive (98/83/EC) requires Governments and Article 15 of the 2000 Drinking Water Regulations (S.I. No. 439
of 2000) requires Sanitary Authorities to provide owners and users of unregulated private water supplies with information about the risks of contamination and with advice about what they can do to protect their supplies and keep them safe. This leaflet fulfills this obligation for Ireland.

Why is this leaflet needed?

Although the majority of private water supplies are probably safe to drink most of the time, they are at risk from contamination. A number of serious illnesses caused by pathogens, such as E. coli 0157 and Cryptosporidium can be transmitted through contaminated drinking water supplies. It is essential that you keep your private water supply safe from contamination to protect your and your family's health.

What is an unregulated private water supply?

An unregulated private water supply is any supply that is not provided by or regulated by a Sanitary Authority. It is any private supply that provides less than 10m3/day of water or serves less than 50 people and does not have a public or commercial activity, such as a restaurant or bed and breakfast respectively. In other words it is a supply to normal residential properties exclusively.

Download Leaflet for Unregulated Private Water Supply