Can you drink well or borehole water in the UK?

Part of our well and borehole water guide

Your water comes from a well, a borehole or a spring. No water company is checking it. Who is, and what do the figures say? You can check a few basics at your own tap with a 20-in-1 test strip.

By Andrew Tomlinson, WaterKit · Last reviewed 29 October 2026

Can you drink well or borehole water?

There is no single answer, because it depends on the source, any treatment and when the water was sampled. The Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) says in its Drinking Water 2025 report that a private water supply is any supply not provided by a water company, regulated by the local authority. It lists boreholes, natural springs, watercourses and onward distribution of mains water as sources, and says around 1.5% of people in England use one, a figure it calls under-reported. The last section sets out what a strip can and cannot show.

In the sources we read, the DWI does not split its 2025 results by well, borehole or spring. For the borehole itself, see our what is a borehole guide.

Who is responsible for a private supply?

You are, if you own or occupy the property, and your council is the regulator. The DWI calls the person with the duties the "relevant person". That is the owner or occupier of the premises supplied, the owner or occupier of the land where the source is, or anyone who manages the source. The DWI says they should have plans for drought or contamination and tell users about any quality problem. It lists three types of private supply in England, and what applies to you depends on which you have.

• A single home, not rented and not used for business. The DWI says monitoring is not mandatory unless the owner or occupier asks. If they do, the council must monitor it under regulation 10(3) of the Private Water Supplies (England) Regulations 2016.
• Two or more homes. The DWI says the supply must be risk assessed every five years and regularly tested.
• A supply used commercially or by the public. The DWI gives a minimum sampling frequency of once a year, and says some rented single homes, including holiday lets and B&Bs, fall under the same duty.

The DWI says a council may recover only its actual cost, and must not charge for a sample taken and analysed solely to clarify or follow up the results of a previous sample (its note on fees). Registering a supply with the council is strongly advised but is not a legal requirement. If you are buying a home with a private supply, the DWI says you become the relevant person, and suggests asking for past risk assessments, sampling results and treatment maintenance logs.

The DWI pages we read cover England and Wales, and say some details differ in Wales. A notice is regulation 18 in England and 20 in Wales, tenanted single homes fall under regulation 11 in Wales, and Welsh fees are capped. We did not read Scottish or Northern Irish sources for this guide, so ask your council.

What does a requested council test cover?

Less than many people expect. The DWI says the minimum list for a requested single-home test is conductivity, enterococci, E. coli, pH and turbidity. The Regulations add any parameter the risk assessment flags. Coliforms, nitrate, iron and manganese are not on the default list. The DWI says what testing can establish is limited by the parameters chosen, which is why it recommends a risk assessment.

Sampling and analysis have to meet Schedule 3, including EN ISO/IEC 17025 or an equivalent standard for analysis. The DWI notes that private contractors may not always use a nationally accredited system.

Some councils are declining requests. The DWI's enquiries report says it hears from consumers that some are, calls this of great concern, and says it cannot investigate complaints about councils. Its suggested route is the council's complaints process, then the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, or your MP.

What do the 2025 figures show?

A failure rate of 2.21% of tests, and more than one in 25 supplies with faecal indicators, going by the DWI's data return findings. These are its figures for England in 2025.

The last row means 58.2% were out of date or had no record, which is our own arithmetic from the DWI's numbers. The DWI says the total number of tests is below what it would expect for the number of supplies, that reporting is patchy, and that private supplies are not being tested at the frequencies the Regulations require. It sets this against public supplies, which it describes as 99.98% compliant in that chapter. On the same basis, 97.79% of private supply tests met the standards, which is our own arithmetic from the 2.21% failure rate.

The DWI also lists what drove the 232 notices tied to failures in 2025, with some notices covering several parameters. Coliform bacteria appear in 137, E. coli in 112 and enterococci in 88. Nitrate appears in 33, pH in 22, manganese in 18 and iron in 16.

Why might my own supply differ from the national figures?

The national figure is an average. Your supply has its own source, pipes and history, and a figure for England does not tell you what comes out of your own tap. The DWI gives several reasons for that.

• Seasons. The DWI says the quality of a supply may vary with seasonal changes to the source water, so a test result at one time is not necessarily representative of other times. It describes a sample as a snapshot limited to the parameters tested.
• Natural metals. The DWI says iron, manganese and aluminium can occur naturally in source waters.
• Rain. It says high rainfall can mobilise material that raises colour and turbidity for a time.
• Fittings and pipework. The DWI says nickel is mostly detected because of nickel-plated fittings such as taps, and that the most robust long-term answer on lead is removing lead pipework, fittings and solder. Our lead pipes guide covers how to tell.
• Storage and treatment. The DWI's supply diagrams show raw water tanks, ultraviolet units and loft tanks between source and tap. Our loft tank guide explains what a tank does.
• Whether anyone has looked. A single untenanted home is tested only on request, so there may be no baseline at all.

“Averages for England can't tell you much about your own tap, because your source, pipework and the time of year all play a part. If you have a private supply, a quick check at your own tap is a sensible way to see where you stand rather than relying on the national picture.”

The DWI's own framing is that sample results should be used together with a risk assessment. A strip at your own tap is a way to see what is there between official samples, for the few things it can read. Our treatment guide covers what follows if something turns up.

What one reader found

One poster in a PistonHeads homes forum thread on boreholes says their house came with one and that "the water is very hard!". They describe filters, a UV light and an industrial softener in the garage that needs a few bags of salt every few months. Their drinking water goes through a reverse osmosis unit under the kitchen sink to a separate tap, also plumbed to the fridge. They think most of this is belt and braces and are fairly sure drinking straight from the borehole would be fine, but they mention no test results.

That is the gap this guide is about. A belief about a supply is not a measurement, and the DWI says a single sample is only a snapshot. If you want to see how hard your own water reads, our hardness guide shows how. Shared on PistonHeads

What can a test strip tell me about a well or borehole?

It gives readings for several parameters in under a minute, which can help you decide what to ask your council for. Fill a clean glass or cup with the water, dip one WaterKit strip, wait 30 to 60 seconds and match the pads to the chart, or enter the colours in our free results checker (scan the QR code on the chart, no app or account needed). The table is our own reading of the chart steps. It shows only what the pads can indicate. Compare any reading with the limits in the Regulations your council works to.

Several things are outside what the kit can do.

• The strip cannot read lead at the UK limit, and lead, mercury, chromium, aluminium and fluoride only change colour far above their limits. A clear result on those pads is not a pass.
• The optional rapid coliform test, read after 24 to 48 hours, is a presence screen and not a count. A yellow result indicates coliform bacteria in that sample. It does not identify E. coli or enterococci, which councils report per 100 ml with laboratory methods, and a clear result does not show a supply would pass the legal test. Our bacteria testing guide has more.
• It does not read turbidity or conductivity, which are on the council's default list.
• A strip result has no legal effect. A failed council sample can lead to a notice, and a private strip result cannot.

The England figures above are an average, and your tap may differ because the DWI says quality can vary with seasonal changes to the source water and that a sample is only a snapshot of the moment it was taken. The pads worth watching here are nitrate, manganese, iron and pH, plus the optional bacteria test. A change from one season to the next, or a yellow bacteria result, is a reason to ask your council's environmental health team for a risk assessment and a sample, and to ask what it will cost. Best pack: 20 strips, enough to check your tap across the seasons and again after any treatment or heavy rain, £5.99 (or £10.99 with a bacteria test), with free 2nd Class delivery on every order. See the kit

Your well and borehole water questions

What is a borehole?

In the sources we read, the DWI lists boreholes alongside natural springs and watercourses as sources of private supplies, and does not define the word on those pages. Our what is a borehole guide explains it.

Is well water safe to drink?

No official source we read gives one answer. The DWI says a sample shows quality only at the moment it was taken, for the parameters tested, and that results should be used with a risk assessment to judge a supply. Its 2025 figures are for all private supplies and are not split by wells.

Is borehole water safe to drink?

The same applies. The DWI's 2025 report does not separate boreholes from other private sources. It reports that iron, manganese and aluminium can occur naturally in source waters, and that failures of the standards are handled supply by supply.

How do I test well water?

The owner or occupier of a single home can ask the council to sample the supply, and the council must do so on request under regulation 10(3). It may charge its actual cost. Councils use accredited sampling and analysis, and the DWI notes private contractors may not. A strip at your own tap can screen a few things in the meantime.

How do I remove iron from well water?

The DWI pages we read do not give a method. They say iron can occur naturally, that a council can act under section 80 of the Water Industry Act 1991 to compel a supply to be made wholesome and acceptable for domestic purposes, and that the DWI has chemical removal guidance. If you are buying a home, it suggests asking whether iron or manganese removal is fitted and about the installer's competence. Our treatment guide covers the options.

How do I correct low pH in well water?

The DWI pages we read give no treatment method for low pH. They show pH is on the council's default list and drove 22 notices in 2025. Ask your council for a risk assessment, and use a competent installer for any treatment.

Sources

1. Drinking Water Inspectorate, Drinking Water 2025: private water supplies in England, data return findings (failure rates, risk assessments, notices, natural metals, nickel, lead; undated page; read 29 October 2026). The text and Table 4 of that page give different figures for some metals, so we did not use them.
2. Drinking Water Inspectorate, Drinking Water 2025: private water supplies in England, introduction (definition, 1.5% of the population, sites and population; undated; read 29 October 2026).
3. Drinking Water Inspectorate, Single dwelling supplies (default test list, seasonal variation, Wales differences; undated; read 29 October 2026).
4. Drinking Water Inspectorate, Relevant person (responsibilities, sampling as a snapshot; undated; read 29 October 2026).
5. Drinking Water Inspectorate, Types of private supplies (England) (regulations 8, 9 and 10; undated; read 29 October 2026).
6. Drinking Water Inspectorate, Registration of private water supplies (registration, accredited sampling; undated; read 29 October 2026).
7. Drinking Water Inspectorate, Buying a dwelling with a private water supply (undated; read 29 October 2026).
8. Drinking Water Inspectorate, Drinking Water 2025: private water supplies, enquiries (councils declining requests, complaints route; undated; read 29 October 2026).
9. Drinking Water Inspectorate, Information note on Regulation 21 (fees; published 17 February 2025; read 29 October 2026).
10. The Private Water Supplies (England) Regulations 2016, regulation 10 and Schedule 3 (monitoring list; sampling and analysis standards; read 29 October 2026).
11. PistonHeads, Water Borehole (Homes, Gardens and DIY forum thread, one poster's account; seen 29 October 2026).
12. WaterKit, Water Test Kit (20-in-1 strip, 30 to 60 second read, optional rapid coliform test read after 24 to 48 hours, 20-strip pack £5.99 or £10.99 with the bacteria test, free 2nd Class delivery on every order, 30-day money-back guarantee) and results checker. The strip-chart column and the comments on expected readings are WaterKit's own reading of the colour chart steps.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.