We recently worked a new domestic borehole installation in the North of England which saw our team drill a brand new 46 metre deep borehole to modern specifications and fit out all the required infrastructure to supply a single property with running water.
The job came about due to a problems with a pre-existing supply. It’s quite common for one borehole to supply multiple dwellings. In a lot of instances shared supplies work very well and can save people money on capital installation and ongoing running costs but this isn’t always the case. Shared systems can lead to minor water conflicts where two or more parties disagree over access, allocation or ongoing running costs of the borehole.
We won’t go into specific details for this job but problems arose when the property owners fell out over splitting the bill for some repair works. The dispute then caused one party to refuse the other access to the supply. This led to legal action, hassle, personal expense and zero progress on carrying out the required maintenance work.
As a result Dales Water were called in to design and drill a completely new supply which negates the problems with the shared supply. The new install is completely independent of the existing shared borehole and produces both a higher quality and higher volume of water.
Benefits of Owning Your Own Independent Private Water Supply System:
- Fully in control of your own water supply
- Adds value to your property
- Removes the possibility of disputes over who owns what and who is responsible for repair works etc. should they be required.
The downside is if course the capital expense required to drill a new borehole, but if a shared supply is causing ongoing problems that don’t appear to be solvable, then aside from moving house or switching to mains water (if possible), a new borehole is the only real option.
It’s also worth noting that if you are buying (or selling) a property with a borehole you do need to check the rights to supply in the deeds. In many cases the access to the borehole will be granted ‘forever hereafter’ meaning should the property change hands they will inherit the rights to access but it is worth checking.
We cannot offer legal advice on any matters relating to a shared supply, but if you’re looking to price up a new borehole, or have a question in general about private water supplies then feel free to contact us.
