Our Water Tests

Please below for the water tests we offer.

Also, click here for water test FAQs. Plus you can see information on International testing standards. And read how to get your water tested by your water supplier.  

Find out what’s in your drinking water Accurate and reliable professional laboratory water testing by experienced chemists and microbiologists. All tests include our FREE treatment solution consultation.

About Your Water Test

Our partners are one of the leading private water supply testing laboratories in the country, specialising in both public and private water supplies, including borehole and spring water supplies.

Your water analysis is based on parameters listed in the Private Water Supply Regulations.

Simply choose your preferred test and pay.

Then we send you a sterile sample kit, with full instructions on how and when to take a sample. You then send it via Royal Mail directly to the lab, re-using the original box received and a pre-paid postage label.

How Long Do The Tests Take

Test 1 and Test 3 - for physical, chemical and microbiological analysis - take up to 6 working days.

Test 2 - for Physical and chemical analysis - takes 2 working days from the time the lab gets your samples.

What to do With Your Test Results

If your test results are okay you can keep them as proof to show people like your Mortgage Lender, property purchaser, Local Environmental Health department, and so on.

Free Consultation Service

If the Test highlights an issue: you simply email us a copy and we’ll give you a free consultation on how you can fix the problem.

Don't worry. We're not interested in selling you anything. There is no obligation at all to buy any recommended solutions from us.

Our aim is to give you impartial advice. You will have already paid for the test.

Besides, if we give you a good service word gets around and we will benefit in other ways.

Why You Might Want To Test Your Water

What best describes you?

I Have Mains Water

Mains water is water supplied on the 'mains' by a public utility/water company. The water has been chlorinated at a Water Treatment Plant and is carefully tested.

If you are simply looking to improve the quality of your mains water supply, you may want your water tested to see what can be improved.

In that case get Test 02 then come back to us with your result. We will advise you on how you can improve your water quality. (This is a free service.)

Water companies already guarantee a minimum water quality so there’s no need for a lengthy and more expensive UKAS test.

Our rapid Test 02 is all you require.

If you decide to install corrective treatment, once it's been installed, you may want to re-test the water to confirm the treatment is effective, and to give you peace of mind.

I have a Private Water Supply

We recommend that all new private water supplies are tested using our rapid testing service.

I Have An Existing Private Water Supply

If you have an existing private water supply and want to check the quality remains good and/or your treatment remains effective, then we recommend Test 03 (ie physical, chemical and microbiological analysis).

Most private water supplies should be tested annually.

If your private water supply is classed as a commercial water supply you may need to test more frequently (we recommend asking your local Environmental Health Officer).

Do I Need a UKAS Test?

(UKAS is the UK’s National Accreditation Body, responsible for determining the competence and integrity of organisations offering testing, calibration and certification services).

However if you need analysis for legal and regulatory purposes then you will need a UKAS standard analysis of your water.

We can certainly arrange a UKAS test for you.

But a UKAS test requires a great number of bottles, and it is becoming increasingly necessary for a trained/qualified water sampler to take the sample.

This is due to regulators not accepting samples collected by inexperienced individuals due to the risk of the samples being inadvertently affected by incorrect sampling techniques, contamination, storage and transportation.

Our laboratory has highly qualified and experienced samplers based around the country who can be booked to take your water sample UKAS analysis.

They will ensure it is correctly sampled in the right bottles and delivered to the lab within the very strict timeframe and conditions required.

Note: There are some online water testing services you might have seen which refer to being UKAS testing. Beware; you’ll probably find that they’re only being done in a UKAS lab but may not actually be UKAS accredited results.

More on When you Might Need a UKAS Test

UKAS tests are only needed to demonstrate compliance with the Private Water Supply Regulation once your water supply is fully commissioned, and at the point where the Environmental Health Officer is ready to sign it off (or not) as a compliant system.

UKAS tests are also needed if you are bottling or supplying the water to a third party.

If your water supply is just for your own personal use then you currently have a choice of whether to involve the Environmental Health Officer or not.

If you opt out, as a personal user, then you do not need to have the more costly and lengthy UKAS test.

If your water supply is used by the public, supplies more than one dwelling, or supplies a third party, then it is classed as a commercial supply and you MUST have a UKAS water analysis completed, showing that all parameters tested were present below drinking water standards before you can supply anyone.

Get the Timing of Your UKAS Right

If you get your first test done (after the borehole/new source is just completed) by the Environmental Health Officer, they are likely to find an initial problem.

This means you need to install a treatment solution and then get the ‘expensive’ UKAS test done all over again.

We Recommend

Come to someone like us for advice, initial testing and corrective treatment before going to the Environmental Health Officer.

The smart money usually does a rapid cheaper test FIRST.

Then comes to us for advice on corrective treatment.

After this process is when you should get it tested by your Environmental Health Officer.

About the Environmental Health Officer

The Environmental Health Officer in your local area is the person or entity who will specify the ultimate list of parameters to be tested at a UKAS laboratory.

There are numerous Environmental Health Officers across the country each with a slightly different list of parameters for testing as they derive the list on a ‘risk-based approach’.

For this reason, we cannot provide a definitive list of parameters to analyse when completing a UKAS test.

As the Environmental Health Officer can arrange the UKAS sampling and analysis for you, we suggest you get them to do the ‘final’ UKAS testing once you are confident it is all working correctly and that our rapid test has shown the quality to be good.

Note: If you can establish the ‘UKAS’ parameters to be tested from the EHO, then we can do the UKAS test for you and we may be cheaper than your local Environmental Health department.

How it Works

Step 1) Test your water for as little as £59 plus VAT (See your test options).

Step 2) Get your results in an easy to understand format.

Step 3) We’ll show you the best treatment solutions.

We won’t just send you a report with a lot of meaningless numbers. We’ll also give you a useful summary highlighting any problem areas.

Here's a Typical Scenario You decide to get a borehole drilled in your back garden - or perhaps you already have one. The upside is that you might be saving a lot of money on paying for your water and avoid a possible hose-pipe ban! The downside is you need to make sure the water is safe to drink. You certainly want to test if the water is safe to drink at least annually because the water chemistry might change. We can help you do that. See our range of tests. Depending on what your test finds, it should be easy to get suitable treatment solutions - and we can also help you do that. Simply send us your results and we’ll send you a free consultation report

Official vs Unofficial Private Water Supplies

Once you start testing your Private Water Supply you are entering the world of Private Water Supply Regulations (PWSR).

Responsibility for regulating private water supplies rests with local Environmental Health Department - under the central guidance of the Drinking Water Inspectorate.

A dodgy contractor can drill a borehole for you for a few thousand pounds and simply drive off, asking no questions.

Sadly, they so often use materials which are not suitable for potable water supplies. They don’t consider influences such as septic tanks, contaminated ground, etc.

They rarely advise clients correctly and seldom worry about the water quality.

 

To Optin or Not to Optin to the PWSR regs

If you’re doing it properly, whether domestic or commercial, you'd be advised to spend a little more and do it correctly.

You can opt in or out of the PWSR regs if it's only for your personal / family use.

It still makes sense to install a borehole that would be compliant with the Private Water Supply Regulations as at some point all supplies will have to be compliant. Those that aren’t could be condemned.

However, if you have any lodgers, run a B&B or fancy yourself as an AirBnB entrepreneur, this means you have to comply with the PWS regs. (In fact, technically this applies to you even if you have a cleaner who is drinking your water during their weekly clean of your house.)

If you opt in to the PWS regs, you will need to complete a routine UKAS water analysis/certificate and have them signed off by your local EHO, to confirm that you are compliant.

Depending on the number of people you supply, and/or the volume of water you pump, you will need to have the tests done between monthly and annually.

For example a B&B typically needs their certificate renewing every 6 month, and a large hotel or leisure complex on a monthly basis.

How to opt in to PWSR

Contacting Your Local Environmental Health Officer (EHO)

The first step is to contact your local EHO in the Environmental Health department of your local authority / council.

There's almost always only one EHO in each Local Authority.

Bear in mind that they may be responsible for a wide variety of environmental issues - eg noise / dog fouling / Tattoo parlours and water quality.

(To be blunt, they’re probably not very well trained in any of these areas - especially in the complex world of water quality).

Some are experts responsible for numerous water private supplies, others may have none on their books and thus become a little rusty.

The EHO can be difficult to find.

Often the local authority, council & staff won't know who they are.

Persevere because there will be someone.

Once you get hold of them it can then take a while for them to get back to you - they’ll often be out in the field doing their checks, and may only be back at their desk once a week.

Your conversation with the EHO will need to cover the following:

"Hi I have a private water supply fed from a borehole/well/spring, and would like to talk to someone about ensuring it is compliant with the Private Water Supply Regulations……"

Now here’s the thing: Some Local Authorities think they can interpret the law in their own way.

So in one local authority/council, the EHO might give you a list of 10 things to test for, while in another they might have a long list which might cost hundreds of pounds to test.

The EHO will offer to test your water for you and to be honest it might be best if you do your testing with them.

This is because they will be less likely to quibble with their own results and - after your making the required changes - will be unlikely to make too much of a fuss with the second testing of your water - wheras they might make more problems if you have an independent test, done by a lab that's unknown to them, or if you try to do your test yourself.

On the other hand, an independent lab like the one we use are probably much better qualified at testing, and will give you a more accurate result and much better advice.

The Risk Assessment

By Law you need to have a Private Water Supply Risk Assessment completed by the EHO along with the UKAS test results to be fully compliant with the PWS regulations.

The Risk Assessment is a massive spreadsheet with numerous sections with a large number of questions. It needs updating every 5 years, or if something material changes in the meantime.

 

If there’s an Issue

If you are a domestic customer and your water fails the test then you are usually given a grace period to implement corrective treatment (installing water filters etc).

If you have a commercial property eg a hotel, there is no grace period at all. So best to get the quality and treatment right first!

So think carefully before deciding that your new bijou hotel should have its own bijou water supply - when there is a mains supply readily available.

Give us a try!

Further reading

Check out our FAQs

How to get your water tested by your Mains Supplier

Checkout this table of Maximum Safe Drinking Water limits / comparing international bodies