A private water supply is one which is not provided by a water company. About 1% of the population in England and Wales do not have a public supply of mains water to their home and instead rely on a private water supply. Mostly, but not exclusively, these occur in the more remote, rural parts of the country. The source of a private supply can be a well, borehole, spring, stream, river or lake and it can also involve storage structures or tanks. The supply may serve just a single property or it can be much larger serving many properties and businesses through a network of pipes.