Many dwellings in rural areas that predate mains water or are simply too remote to hook up it often draw their water from borehole or springs. Whenever a dwelling with a private water supply is up for sale it’s worthwhile a potential buyer carrying out a risk assessment or ‘home buyer report’ prior to purchasing. This report will determine the quality and sufficiency of the supply.
A recent job in West Yorkshire saw Dales Water carry out a home buyers report on a property that was on the market with its own borehole. We were asked by the interested party to assess the installation and check the water quality.
The borehole in question was situated in an underground chamber and was covered with an old fashioned cover plate design. Whilst the volume of water produced was more than sufficient our water quality testing highlighted there was a failure for iron and no bacterial control was in place.
We produced a written report highlighting the potential problems and suggested improvement works. Armed with this knowledge the purchaser used the information to negotiate a better deal on the property.
Improvement Works
Once the deal had gone through the second part of the job saw Dales Water update the borehole installation to make it compliant with modern rules and regulations. Our team overhauled the system and brought it up to speed, this included:
- Raising the borehole head works to above ground.
- Raising the chamber above ground.
- Installing the existing Borehole pump (which was still in perfect working order) on approved rising main.
- Servicing all of the existing water filtration equipment.
- Installing new digital filter control valves to replace dated analogue head valves.
- Installing a new UV purifier with 5 micron pre cartridge filter to provide bacterial control and point source protection.
- The borehole is located in a patio area and for aesthetic purpose we built the borehole chamber out of Yorkshire Stone.
The new home owner now has an up to date system and is taking advantage of a reliable and high quality water supply.
Things to Consider
Buying a house with a private water supply can unnerve many potential buyers; many of them have only ever used mains water but once they know the benefits a borehole can provide it often becomes very appealing.
Most boreholes provide reliability, higher pressure, cost savings and better water quality when compared to mains but they’re not without their pitfalls. That’s where our homebuyers service can come in extremely useful – we can identify problems (such as contamination) with a supply prior to purchase and quote on the improvement works required to ensure the supply meets modern standards.
This can lead to a better purchase price and ensure the buyer isn’t purchasing without knowing the full ins and outs of the properties water supply.
And on the reverse – if you’re a sat on a property with a private water supply looking to sell; then regularly maintaining the supply to keep it running smoothly and compliant could ensure you don’t have to accept an offer significantly under your asking price.
What You Need to Know Before Buying a Property with a Private Water Supply
- What sort of supply is it?
- Does the owner have the correct rights to the supply?
- Does the supply have water treatment in place such as UV Filters?
- Is there a document outlining what the water failed on and is the treatment appropriate to correct it?
- If there is a UV system in place – is it compliant for use with drinking water supplies?
- Does the owner have a maintenance logs or records for the supply?
- Has there been any past problems with the supply such as taste and odour, discolouration or unreliability / insufficient supply?
- What existing procedures are in place in case of emergency such as drop in water quality, pump failure, leakages. This often requires arranging an alternative supply or calling out a firm to provide repairs.
- Is there a schematic of the supply showing the full layout of the borehole installation available?
If you’re looking at buying a property with a private water supply and would like some advice then feel free to contact us.
