The charging scheme adopted by ECDC, in accordance with Regulation 21 of the Private Water Supplies (England) Regulations 2016 (external link), is one which covers Officers time in undertaking investigations and assessments, and which covers the costs of water quality analysis. If enforcement action is required costs can only be claimed for such activity if a statutory notice is not complied with and an individual becomes liable to a fine on summary conviction.
The Regulations lay down the maximum applicable charges and the table below provides information on the maximum fees. It also provides you with an indication of the more likely costs and charges for typical private water supply sampling and assessment bearing in mind the average Private Water Supply we inspect and the typical samples analysed.
Activity | Maximum Charge Permitted | Average Charging Scheme | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
Risk Assessment | £500 | Contractor's hourly rate x time £150 average | Average hourly rate is £30 and average time taken for a simple risk assessment and report is 5 hours |
Sampling | £100 | Contractor’s hourly rate x time £120 average (max £100) | Charge for a visit to middle of District and to take a sample, and for delivery and /or transport of sample to lab, typically 4 hours |
Investigation | £100 | Contractor’s hourly rate x time | Carried out in the event of test failure, can be substituted by risk assessment |
Authorisation
| £100 | Contractor’s hourly rate x time | Application by the owner of a supply for permission to breach a standard temporarily whilst remedial work is carried out |
Analysis: | |||
Under Reg. 10 (Domestic Supplies) | £25 | £8.11 plus VAT | Where a supply provides <10m3 / day or <50 people and is used for domestic purposes |
Check Monitoring (Commercial Supplies) | £100 | £33.14 plus VAT | Check monitoring is carried out to ensure that water complies with the standards. |
Audit Monitoring (Commercial Supplies) | £500 | £254.66 +£33.14 check monitoring plus VAT | Additional parameters sampled less often to ensure the water complies with all safety standards |