Well water/drilling hole – own drinking water supply through domestic wells

Around nine out of ten people in England get their drinking water via the seemingly simplest route: via the public drinking water supply systems. These are operated professionally and the quality of the water entering households is closely monitored. However, more and more people are now using the alternative: their own domestic well, which also uses groundwater and flows into the public drinking water supply. Well water can offer many advantages, but hygiene is an important part of well maintenance and monitoring.

Your own domestic well as an alternative to the public drinking water supply?

Providing independence from the public drinking water supply network and an effective alternative in the long-term, domestic wells offer an option that is attracting not only households (particularly in rural areas), but also agricultural businesses, public institutions and other large-scale water consumers. Even though the supply network of public drinking water suppliers now covers almost all private and commercial drinking water needs without any gaps, supply via the drinking water network is often not viable from an ecological, hygienic or technical point of view, especially in remote areas.

Not all water is drinking water

The problem: From a microbiological and chemical point of view, the drinking water produced by wells does not automatically correspond to the drinking water quality prescribed by the Drinking Water Ordinance. Special water treatment systems are required to achieve the required quality. This is because even when well water is extracted via a domestic well, harmful substances can enter the well water through the ground, which must be removed before the spring water can actually be classed as safe drinking water. Domestic wells are often relatively shallow and have no protected areas. Protected areas are designed to protect the area around a public waterworks from contamination in the soil and thus of the water. But this measure is almost impossible on a smaller scale in private use. It is therefore advisable to have your domestic well water tested.