Drinking Water - Monitoring of Quality
Officers from the Food and Safety Section sample both private water supplies and public mains water as a matter of monthly routine.

Private Water Supplies
Private water supplies can be prone to contamination by harmful bacteria or chemicals etc. Therefore, it makes good sense to have your water tested to ensure the quality is satisfactory.
If your property shares a private water supply with one or more other houses, the supply is required by law to be sampled and a register of supplies and sample results is held at the Environmental Health office. The cost of such sampling is borne by owners of properties served by the supply.
If your property is served by a single supply, it may not have been sampled and there is currently no legal requirement to do so. However, should you wish to have your supply sampled, it can be arranged by this department? A charge is made for this service.
It should also be noted that if you intend to use your property for commercial purposes, eg bed & breakfast, holiday lets, etc, the water must be tested on an annual basis, and the cost borne by owners.

Contact Food and Safety Manager to arrange for the private water supply to be sampled. Appropriate advice will then be given to assist in rectifying any problem. There is normally a charge for this service.

Public Mains Water
The public or mains water supply is provided by Scottish Water . If you have any concerns about mains water quality you should first of all contact them on 0845 601 8855. However, if you think that a problem has not been rectified, the Council may be able to assist by sampling the supply or by carrying out other investigations.

Sampling Water for Lead Content
In properties that are occupied, the sample is taken in the morning before the water is run for other use to obtain the maximum level of lead likely to be found. Labelled bottles are left with the householder with instructions as to how to fill them, and are collected at an arranged time by a member of staff. If the property is vacant, the sample can be taken at anytime by arrangement.

Always use water from the cold kitchen tap for drinking and cooking. Run water off for a couple of minutes in the morning before using for these purposes.

At the moment, the Council reserve the right to recover the laboratory fee. Additional samples may incur a charge to cover both the analysis and administration costs.

Copies of results and details of how to proceed with a grant application, if appropriate, are forwarded to the householder when the Council receives the report from the analyst, usually within 3 weeks of the sample being taken.

At present the World Health Organisation (WHO) give a prescribed maximum lead content of 50 micrograms per litre of drinking water. Levels above this value may be deemed to be a potential risk to health.

Grant assistance to assist in the replacement of lead pipe-work may be available, from the Council, for levels in excess of the prescribed maximum.