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Chemical Contamination of Private Drinking Water Supplies in the West Midlands, United Kingdom

Introduction: In the United Kingdom, private drinking water supplies are subject to much less stringent sampling and testing regimes than are public supplies. Information regarding the quality of private drinking water supplies is disparate and poorly defined. The aim of this study was to collate the data for chemical contamination of private drinking water supplies in the West Midlands, a region of Central England with a population of 5.3 million. Methods: The most recent year's data on the number of private supplies, the number of supplies sampled, and the number and type of failures for chemical parameters were obtained from District and Local Authorities in the West Midlands Region. Results: Data covered 12-month periods during 1995–1996. Of the 6013 private supplies identified, samples from 1297 had been tested for chemical parameters during the period of the study. A total of 420 individual failures for chemical parameters were reported in 386 water supplies. The majority of breaches of United Kingdom and European Union standards were due to increased concentrations of nitrates (270), magnesium (21), manganese (17), and iron (15). Increased turbidity was present in 27 cases. Only 6 samples breached the standard for lead and 6 for pesticides. Conclusions: Over a quarter of the supplies tested during the period of the study were in breach of United Kingdom and European Union legislation. Of the reported failures, the high concentrations of nitrate and nitrite, lead, copper, and sulfate are of concern to health and remedial action is warranted. Regular sampling of private drinking water supplies remains necessary to prevent risk to health from a wide variety of toxic contaminants.