Information for water customers
The government has transferred the ownership of private sewers to the local water and sewerage companies who maintain and repair our public sewers.
This means that your local water and sewerage company is responsible for the sewer and will have to maintain any pipes and connections that go wrong.
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Before and after - diagram of what the transfer will mean (opens a new window) |
Find out more about the transfer
How does this affect customers?
The changes agreed by the government in England and the Welsh Assembly Government transferred private sewer and lateral ownership overnight on 1 October 2011.
Following transfer, for most households, any problems with the laterals or sewers are now taken care of by the local water and sewerage company. There are some exceptions and customers were given the right to appeal against the transfer.
The pipework and connecting drains from the property to the sewer or lateral within the boundary remain the responsibility of the property owner unless other properties drain through it.
Water and sewerage companies have written to all households and made customers aware of the changes. They also provide information on company websites. The law required that customers be given a period of notice before the transfer.
Now, if there is a problem with a newly transferred sewer or lateral pipe, customers can contact their water and sewerage company through the usual channels - via the call centre or helpline number. The company is responsible for investigating and, where responsible, arranging a repair.
The Consumer Council for Water, which represents all water customers, welcomed the transfer decision as it provides "peace of mind" for consumers and rules out the potentially expensive cost of maintenance and repairs.
The government decided that the added costs of maintenance of the transferred pipework would be shared by all customers by being spread across all customer water bills.
How does this affect the water company who is now responsible?
The government estimated that there were almost as many private sewers as public sewers in England and Wales. For some water and sewerage companies, this has meant almost doubling the amount of sewer they are responsible for - overnight.
Clearly, this is a huge task to take on and all companies have adapted and upscaled their maintenance arrangements to meet the extra requirements. The water and sewerage companies welcome the transfer as it will make the entire public sewer network more efficient. However, many private sewers have not been mapped, and the extent and condition of many sewers is unknown.
Water and sewerage companies have said that they will deal with repairs first and gradually integrate the private sewers and laterals into the public network.
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