Dramatic as it may sound, an inadequate wellhead can land both contractor and owner with a criminal conviction and hefty costs if it leads to groundwater pollution.
Despite the prospect of up to £20,000 fines and legal action that could ruin businesses and reputations, too many boreholes are ticking time-bombs of potential health and water contamination issues.
As Environment Agency guidance reveals: “..staff have seen many examples of badly constructed, completed or maintained private water supply boreholes, and are concerned at the risks to which source owners are subjecting themselves, often out of ignorance.”
However, ignorance is no defence if a wellhead is found to be the culprit of a problem warranting Agency inspection.