Private Water Supplies - Five Times More Risk of Infection
4th September 2012
Highland Council call for increased awareness of risks from private water supplies.
The Highland Council has two thousand private water supplies which serve around seven thousand properties throughout the area. Improvements have been made to many supplies over the last few years but the Council are urging anyone on a private supply to ensure the supply is maintained and meets the Scottish Government's recommended standards.
New research carried out by Professor Paul Hunter of the University of East Anglia has shown that young children, particularly under tens, who drink water from private supplies are five times more at risk of picking up stomach infections. It has shown, for the first time that this is due to the fact that the children's immunity system has not had time to build up. The research recommends to parents to either ensure adequate well-maintained treatment such as filtration or chlorination, or provide alternate sources such as drinking bottled water.
While many of the supplies in Highland will be well managed, the quality of water from others may vary. To help improve the quality of these supplies, there is a non-means tested grant of £800 in Scotland for improving the supply and installation of treatment. Owners and users of private water supplies are encouraged to make use of this grant and further information can be obtained from Highland Council's Environmental Health Service.
Councillor Graham Phillips Chairman of the TECS Committee said: "I would encourage those who drink water from an untreated private water supply to contact their Environmental Health office. Officers will visit to risk assess the supply, advise on any improvements required and explain how to claim the £800 grant."
Private water supplies are the responsibility of their owners and users, while local authorities have duties to carry out risk assessments and sampling of supplies in their area. Private water supplies which have water treatment processes such as ultraviolet (UV) disinfection should be operated and maintained in accordance with manufacturers' advice.
Related Businesses
Related Articles
At the Highland Council Economy and Infrastructure Committee. (Thursday 2 May 2024) Members had the opportunity to review the work the Council is doing to progress active travel and improve road safety before approving the next steps.
At the meeting of the Economy and Infrastructure Committee members had the opportunity to review the last two years of the Community Regeneration Funding Programme before agreeing changes to how the 2024/25 programme will be delivered. Committee Chair, Cllr Ken Gowans said: "Following a successful two years, it is a good time to review what has gone well and what can be done better so we can continue to build on success, and seamlessly move the focus onto how best to support the delivery of projects." "With 279 live projects and over £6million of committed funds still to be claimed, there is no doubt as to the value and impact of the programme's potential.
The Highland Council's In-House bus service pilot project was launched in January 2023. The success of its first year of operation in delivering savings and creating a valued and reliable service was highlighted at today’s Economy and Infrastructure Committee.
Members of Highland Council's Economy and Infrastructure Committee today (2 May 2024) approved the local authority's draft Ecology Strategy and Action Plan which will now move forward to an 12-week public consultation. The Ecology Strategy sets out an ambitious set of actions to tackle biodiversity loss and address the ecological emergency.
Economy and Infrastructure Committee members today (2 May 2024) agreed to direct £100K from the Council's share of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) to fund a new staff training programme at the Inverness Castle Experience. The funding will enable the project team to provide specialist visitor attraction training to young people identified through partners at Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) and the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI).
The Housing and Property Committee met on Wednesday 1 May 2024 and noted the Housing Service performance report 2023/24 that met the agreed priorities and associated initiatives in the Local Housing Strategy 2023-2028. The report highlighted a number of achievements in 2023/24 in increasing housing supply.
Kate Lackie, Malcolm MacLeod and Allan Gunn have been appointed as Assistant Chief Executives with The Highland Council. Convener of the Council, Cllr Bill Lobban said: "I am delighted to say that Kate Lackie, Malcolm MacLeod and Allan Gunn have been appointed as Assistant Chief Executives with The Highland Council.
As intimated in Highland Council's budget plan, a new senior management structure is to be implemented following approval by Council 14th March. It reconfigures the senior management team into two layers, rather than three and brings Highland Council into line with other benchmarked authorities.
Today, Morrison Construction introduced some of their local apprentices who are working on the UK Governments' Levelling Up Funded refurbishment project at the Northern Meeting Park in Inverness. All these apprentices have been recruited from the Highland area.
The by-election to elect a councillor to represent Ward 19 - Inverness South on The Highland Council has been won by Duncan Cameron McDonald - Independent who was one of the eight candidates who contested the vacancy. Voters in the ward went to the poll yesterday (Thursday 11 April) and the by-election count was held this morning in The Highland Council Headquarters in Inverness.
