Water UK

National protocol for cooperation on rodent control

In 2000 Water UK and the Local Authorities Association developed a national protocol to help joint working between companies and local authorities.

The protocol is as follows:

1. Where a Water UK member commences a new sewer-baiting activity it should inform the relevant local authority.

2. Where a local authority commences a new baiting activity to combat rat infestation it should inform the relevant Water UK member.

3. Where possible sewer baiting and baiting to combat rat infestation should be undertaken in a complementary manner by agreement between the Water UK member and the local authority.

4. Water UK members and local authorities should share information regarding the success of baiting strategies and the baits used.

5. Where there is an advantage in doing so, local liaison groups should be established between Water UK members and local authorities to facilitate successful rodent control in sewers.

6. Within the bounds of commercial confidentiality, Water UK members and local authorities should share information on the costs of rodent control.

7. Water UK members and local authorities should jointly review on a regular basis their operation of this protocol with a view to improvement.

Why are rats on the increase above ground?

The National Pest Technicians' Association annual report (2007) states that the rat population in Britain is on the increase. Reasons for this increase are:

 • warmer weather – brown rats living in cities are now breeding every month of the year due to higher temperatures
 • waste food discarded on streets and in plastic rubbish sacks – rats will stay near above ground food sources.

What are the water and sewerage companies doing?

Rat populations in sewers tend to be self-limiting because of competition and hierarchies within groups. Research by the Urban Water Technology Unit at the University of Abertay, Dundee, indicated that less than 10% of above-ground sightings were associated with rats from sewers.

However, all companies have rodent control policies in place to control and reduce rats in their sewer systems. The ‘targeted’ approach has been shown to be the more effective control policy but companies work both reactively and proactively. Most do not adopt a ‘one size fits all’ approach. And the water and sewerage companies work with local authority environmental health officers to develop sensible plans of action. Companies will often bait where local authorities or the public report rats as well as where their own staff or CCTV sewer surveys indicate rats.

Phill Mills
Director of Water Services
020 7344 1833