Your Heating Oil is valuable
<h3 style="color:#ffffff;">Are you doing all you can to protect it?</h3>
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<h3>Do you have a heating oil tank at your property?</h3><p>If the answer is yes, you might like to learn more about:</p><ul><li>your legal responsibility as an owner of a domestic heating oil system;</li><li>how you can protect your oil and home;</li><li>what to do if you discover a leak;</li><li>how to access our scheme for free tank inspections or subsidised replacement tanks and systems.</li></ul>
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<h3>Do you know your legal responsibilities as an oil tank owner?</h3><p>If the answer is no, you might like to know:</p><ul><li>You have a legal responsibility to make sure your oil doesn’t cause pollution and that you comply with building regulations.</li><li>You face liability to clean up in the event of a spill or leak that causes (or is likely to cause) damage to the environment.</li><li>You face an unlimited fine and a criminal prosecution if your oil causes pollution of a river, stream, lake or groundwater.</li></ul>
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<img src="https://www.portsmouthwater.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Heating-oil-leaflet-image.jpg" alt="Heating oil leaflet image"/>
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<a href="/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/OIL-CARE-CAMPAIGN-LEAFLET_FINAL.pdf">/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/OIL-CARE-CAMPAIGN-LEAFLET_FINAL.pdf</a>
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For further information, download our latest Oil Care leaflet
<a href="/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/OIL-CARE-CAMPAIGN-LEAFLET_FINAL.pdf">/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/OIL-CARE-CAMPAIGN-LEAFLET_FINAL.pdf</a>
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<h2>The cost of a leak</h2><p>If your heating oil leaks into the ground or a local river, stream or lake it can be expensive. The lost oil can cost you hundreds of pounds, but the clean-up costs are regularly more than £20,000. If groundwater or drinking water is affected, these costs can quickly escalate to six figures, unless dealt with swiftly by specialists.</p><p>You will likely be without heating or hot water, and need to deal with significant damage to your home; not to mention the disruption to daily life whilst you sort it all out.</p><p>If you live above groundwater used for public water supply it is likely that some of your property will need to be dug up to find and remove the oil before it causes too much contamination. In the most serious cases, this can mean moving out of your home for a prolonged period whilst the works are underway.</p>

<h2 style="color: #fff;">What if you discover a leak?</h2><ul class="list_check" style="font-size: 120%; color: #fff;"><li>Be safe (for example no smoking).</li><li>If safe to do so collect dripping or leaking oil in a suitable container.</li><li>Stop the oil from entering drains or watercourses by containing it with sand or earth.</li><li>Don’t spread the oil by hosing it down.</li><li>Don’t add detergents.</li><li>Call the UK pollution incident hotline 24 hours a day 0800 80 70 60.</li></ul>

<p>All of this is much more likely to happen if your tank is:</p><ul style="font-size: 120%;"><li>more than 20 years old;</li><li>in poor condition;</li><li>‘single skinned’;</li><li>has deteriorating pipework.</li></ul>

<img src="https://www.portsmouthwater.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Corroded-Oil-Tank.jpg" alt="Corroded Oil Tank"/>
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<h2>How to protect your home</h2><ul><li style="list-style-type: none;"><ul><li>Find out if your tank and pipes are safe at <a href="http://www.oilcare.org.uk/look-after-your-oil/regular-tank-checks/">oilcare.org.uk/look-after-your-oil/regular-tank-checks/</a> or watch <a href="https://youtu.be/igk6JbKbV3M">https://youtu.be/igk6JbKbV3M</a>.</li><li>Check your tank regularly and every time before a delivery to make sure you don’t overfill it, and it isn’t damaged or leaking. Check your tanks and pipes for leaks or spills again after each delivery.</li><li>Get a competent person to check it annually, preferably at the same time as your annual boiler service. You can find a registered oil technician at <a href="http://www.oftec.org.uk/Consumers/FindTechnician">www.oftec.org.uk/Consumers/FindTechnician</a>.</li><li>Check your home insurance. Ask your insurer what cover you actually have for cleaning up an oil spill or leak. You need to be covered for a ‘gradual environmental spill’ not just ‘sudden, accidental loss’. Search for an insurance policy that covers you properly if your insurer doesn’t. Download this helpful template for questions to ask your insurers or brokers if you use home heating oil at <a href="http://www.oilspillinsurance.co.uk/homespill/">oilspillinsurance.co.uk/homespill/</a>.</li></ul></li></ul>

We can help you
<h2>We can help you</h2>

Free tank inspections
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If your property is above groundwater used for public drinking water supply and in our supply area you can receive a free tank inspection from Portsmouth Water. The inspection will be undertaken by an OFTEC registered technician.
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50% grant towards replacement works
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Additionally we offer a 50% grant towards a replacement tank and system (e.g. pipework) if you are in a high risk groundwater protection zone and your heating oil system poses a risk to groundwater (e.g. over 20 years old, poor condition (cracks, rusty etc) or single skinned ).
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Find out today
<h3 style="color: #fff;">Find out today if you are eligible for a free inspection or subsidised replacement works by:</h3>
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Email
<a href="mailto:catchment.management@portsmouthwater.co.uk">mailto:catchment.management@portsmouthwater.co.uk</a>
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Phone Us
<a href="tel:02392249248">tel:02392249248</a>
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<h2>Why is a water company like us interested in your heating oil?</h2><p>As your water supplier, Portsmouth Water abstracts groundwater contained within the chalk rock (aquifer) of the South Downs. The water we supply has to meet strict water quality standards to be suitable for drinking.</p><p><img class="aligncenter wp-image-9331 size-full" src="https://www.portsmouthwater.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Groundwater-cross-section.jpg" alt="" width="1068" height="331" /></p><p>The quality of water abstracted from our sources is influenced by land use.   Over recent years we have experienced an increased number of pollution incidents caused by faulty or poorly maintained fuel oil storage tanks and pipework.</p><p><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-9332" src="https://www.portsmouthwater.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Tap.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="206" />Portsmouth Water take a pro-active approach to ensure the chalk rock (aquifer) does not become polluted. This can result in the precautionary shutdown of a local public water supply source to reduce the risk of groundwater contamination while clean-up and remediation works take place. This can be very costly and disruptive to local water supplies while alternative sources are used.</p><p>If an oil spillage were to affect a groundwater source used to supply drinking water, the clean-up costs could exceed £1 million. In the worst case scenario the source may have to be abandoned, resulting in reduced water supplies in the local area.</p><p>We work with the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/report-an-environmental-incident" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Environment Agency</a>, <a href="https://www.oftec.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">OFTEC</a>, <a href="https://www.oilspillinsurance.co.uk/homespill/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">domestic heating oil insurers</a> and others to encourage domestic heating oil owners to maintain their systems to reduce the risk of oil spills and leaks.</p><p>Drinking Water Quality is of concern to us all. <strong>To find out more about our domestic heating oil work download our latest <a href="/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/OIL-CARE-CAMPAIGN-LEAFLET_FINAL.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">oil care leaflet </a></strong></p>
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