Private water supplies

Apply for a private water supply improvement grant

Financial assistance of up to £800 per property is available without means testing.

Improvement grants are available to nearly all properties served by a private water supply. Applications can be made by owner occupiers, landlords, tenants and other relevant people.

We cannot issue grants retrospectively for works which are already started, completed or to allow users to connect to the public mains water supply.

Apply for grant information

Maintenance advice for private water supplies

Following the risk assessment of a supply and the installation of any required treatment systems and protective measures, routine maintenance has to be undertaken to maintain optimum water quality and to minimise the risk of contaminated water being consumed.

For information on how to achieve a safe water supply, please read our maintenance plan.

Lead in private water supplies

In Scotland, lead does not occur naturally in significant concentrations in our water supplies. The problem arises when drinking water comes into contact with lead supply pipes, lead tanks, lead soldier joints on copper pipes, or inferior quality brass fittings and taps, particularly for longer periods. This can result in high lead levels in the drinking water supply. Information on the health effects of exposure to lead can be found on the NHS Inform website.