Water Authorities are responsible for the public water supply.  There are two Water Authorities that provide water to Central Bedfordshire residents - Anglian Water and Three Valleys Water.  The vast majority of properties in Central Bedfordshire receive their water from these two water authorities.

The water authorities regularly carry out tests to ensure that the public water supply meets the required standards.  Central Bedfordshire Council obtains copies of these test results and are available through the water authorities website.

Anglian Water water quality reports

Three Valleys water quality reports

If you suspect that there is a problem with your public supply then you should first contact your water supplier for them to investigate. 

The contact details for Anglian Water and Three Valleys Water can be obtained using the links below.

Anglian Water contact details

Three Valley Water contact details

When there are failures of any test Central Bedfordshire Council are informed and consulted on the management of any particular problem.

In general terms a private water supply is any water supply which is not provided by water company. It is not a "mains" supply. No water rates are paid for these supplies although the person who owns a supply may make a charge and there are no laws controlling the charges or other conditions connected with private supplies. About 1% of the population use water from private supplies and the owner or person who uses the supply is responsible for repairing and maintaining it. Private supplies are usually used in the more remote parts of the country.

Under the Private Water Supply Regulations 1991, there is a duty on local authorities to ensure that the quality of water from private supplies serving domestic or commercial premises is 'wholesome', meeting certain quality standards. These regulations were passed under the European Union Directive 80/778/EC. Directive 98/83/EC is an update of the original directive and states that all supplies should be compliant by Dec 25th 2003.

To ensure the wholesome quality of the water, samples of water are taken in accordance with the category of supply and analysed. Standards are measured against a set of acceptable microbiological and chemical parameters and charges made where appropriate.

If a sample fails or exceeds against any of the measured parameters then steps must be taken by the property owner or proprietor to rectify the problem. If the problem is not remedied then the local authority may implement the necessary remedial measures, recovering the costs from the property owner or proprietor. In situations where public health is under serious threat e.g. hazardous contamination of supplies used for commercial food preparation, we aim to act promptly to minimise the associated risk. 

Local authorities are also required to keep a register of all the private water supplies in their area, with information about test results. 

If you would like further information about Private Water Supplies in Central Bedfordshire or would like to see the Private Water Supplies register for Central Bedfordshire, then please contact us on 0300 300 8000. 

The Environment Agency is responsible for maintaining or improving the quality of fresh, marine, surface and underground water in England and Wales. The Agency aim to prevent or reduce the risk of water pollution wherever possible, and to ensure that it gets cleaned up if pollution occurs that might lead to effects on people or ecosystems.  

Further information on the activities and specific responsibilities of the Environment Agency with regard to watercourse/recreational water quality

Although the Environment Agency have overall responsibility for recreational waters. In instances where blooms of blue/green algae grow, Central Bedfordshire Council respond to protect public health by notifying the public. This is usually done by placing signs at any affected water body warning of the dangers of swimming in/using such waters. 

Further information on blue/green algal blooms and the health effects of blooms of this nature