Consultation start: 20 December 2011
Consultation end: 31 January 2012

We want your views on how the water and sewerage undertakers will adopt new sewers and lateral drains connecting to the public sewerage network.

The Water Industry (Schemes for Adoption of Private Sewers) Regulations 2011 came into force on 1 July 2011. Under this law, existing private sewers and lateral drains became the responsibility of water and sewerage undertakers in England and Wales on 1 October 2011. We now want to implement a automatic adoption process for all new sewers and lateral drains, supported by national build standards.

This consultation covers England and the Welsh Government began a separate consultation about implementation in Wales on 2 November 2011 (http://wales.gov.uk/consultations/environmentandcountryside).  We will work closely with the Welsh Government to ensure that our build standards are consistent. This will avoid confusion for developers and the water industry across England and Wales.

We welcome views on:

• Moving from current to new adoption arrangements;
• National build standards for newly-built sewers and lateral drains;
• Draft Regulations to ensure that the adoption process is completed; and
• Impact Assessment for the National Build Standards.

How to respond

Please submit your comments by 31 January 2012, in any of the following ways:

Email: Sewer.Adoption@defra.gsi.gov.uk

Post

Defra, Sewers Adoption Team
Area 2A, Ergon House
Horseferry Road
London
SW1P 2AL

Additional information

If you have any queries on this consultation, please telephone 020 7238 4847.

The information you send to us will be published in a summary of responses to this consultation. Normally the names and addresses (or part of them) of their authors are published along with the response. If you do not wish to be identified as the author of your response, please state this clearly when you write or e-mail.

Downloads

3 January 2012

• Annex A (Exemptions) (pdf, 151 KB)

20 December 2011

• Consultation letter (pdf, 69 KB)
• Consultation document (pdf, 247 KB)
• Consultee list (pdf, 104 KB)
• Annex B (National Build Standards) (pdf, 720 KB)
• Annex C (Impact Assessment) (pdf, 323 KB)
• Annex D (Draft Regulations) (pdf, 70 KB)