Sewers are the pipes that take foul sewage and surface water away from more than one property. Lateral drains take foul sewage (waste from toilets, bathrooms and kitchens) and surface water (rain water) away from individual properties and lie outside of the property’s boundary.

Sewers and lateral drains are either publicly or privately maintained. If they are publicly maintained, the local water and sewerage company is responsible for repairs and maintenance.

Latest news

• On 20 December 2011 the Government launched a public consultation on draft proposals to ensure that all new foul sewers connecting to the public sewerage network are built to a specified standard and automatically adopted by the local water and sewerage company as part of the public network. These proposals would implement Section 42 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010.  
• The Government introduced changes which transferred private sewers that connect to the public sewerage system to the water and sewerage companies. The new Regulations came into force on 1 July 2011, and the transfer took place on 1 October 2011. (“Transfer of private sewers will free customers from unexpected repair bills”, Defra news release, 1 July 2011). The private sewers transfer regulations: Provisional non-statutory guidance.
• The changes apply to England and Wales (there are separate, parallel Regulations applying in Wales)
• The transfer of private sewers has removed a burden from householders that has long been viewed as unfair and unreasonable – the first attempt to address the problem was in the 1930s. For several years the transfer has had cross-party support.
• Transfer will give customers peace of mind. Previously householders have faced the nasty surprise of being charged for repairs to pipes which they did not know they were responsible for – these costs have sometimes reached thousands of pounds.
• Once the transfer has been completed, the annual cost to sewerage bill payers is estimated as on average £5 p.a. increase on all sewerage bills from 2011, rising to £8 by 2019, with a range of £3 – £14 across the water and sewerage companies. The costs will reflect realities on the ground and vary from company to company.
• We recognise that customers are wary that the costs will creep up – but  Ofwat will scrutinise water companies’ proposals so bills can be kept as low as possible and any costs passed on to customers are justified and reasonable. The timing of any increase will be driven by when companies apply to Ofwat to increase prices to reflect their new responsibilities.
• The 10 water and sewerage companies were previously responsible for approximately 323,000km of public sewers in England and Wales.
• There were a further 184,000km of private sewers and 36,000km of private laterals that connect to and affect the public system, but were not the responsibility of the water and sewerage companies and had no planned operational maintenance regime.
• It has been estimated that up to 50% of properties in England and Wales were connected to a private sewer in one form or another and most of the rest are responsible for a lateral drain.
• See Directgov for information about problems with drains and sewers

Why have we made these changes?

• Disparate ownership of the sewerage network caused difficulties for long term planning, which is important in adapting to the effects of climate change and housing growth.
• Transfer will provide customers with the assurance of having a regulated company responsible for maintaining and repairing the sewerage system serving their property, which works to minimum standards of service, which is overseen by Ofwat, and on whom they can call if problems arise.

Key facts and figures

• The 10 water and sewerage companies were responsible for approximately 323,000km of public sewers in England and Wales.
• A further 184,000km of private sewers and 36,000km of private laterals connected to and affected the public system, and had no planned operational maintenance regime. These are now the responsibility of the water and sewerage companies
• It has been estimated that up to 50% of properties in England and Wales were connected to a private sewer in one form or another and most of the rest were responsible for a lateral drain.

Background

Consultation has shown that a transfer of ownership to the Water and Sewerage Companies is the preferred approach to dealing with the problems associated with private sewer ownership and that it should be automatic and overnight.

The decision to transfer private sewers resulted from consultation in 2003 and in 2007 consultation on the form of transfer took place. Subsequently, in December 2008 the previous Government announced that transfer would take place from 2011. A consultation on the details – the regulations and the transfer scheme – took place in August 2010, with a summary of responses published in March 2011.

The Government also proposes to ensure that all new sewers connecting to the public sewerage network are built to a specified standard and automatically adopted as part of the public network. We have explored what this standard should comprise, and how the standard and automatic adoption of new sewers and lateral drains should be implemented, with the help of a steering group of key stakeholders. Our proposals are contained in the consultation which launched on 20 December 2011.

Extent of Transfer

The effect of transfer on householders’ responsibilities is illustrated in the following schematics of typical sewerage arrangements:

Example of new arrangements

Example of previous arrangements

Legislation and regulations

Powers to implement private sewers transfer were taken in amendments to section 105 of Water Industry Act 1991 introduced by the Water Act 2003.

Transfer will be effected by the Water Industry (Schemes for Adoption of Private Sewers) Regulations 2011 .

The regulations require the water and sewerage companies to use their existing discretionary powers to effect the transfer of all private sewers and lateral drains that connect to the public sewerage system as at 1 July 2011 by using their existing statutory powers, which require them to notify all of their sewerage customers of their intention to take over responsibility for all private sewers and lateral drains in their areas, as specified in schemes to be made by the Secretary of State.

• The private sewers transfer regulations: Provisional non-statutory guidance
• Scheme made by the Secretary of State for the adoption by sewerage undertakers of sewers and lateral drains (1 July 2011) (PDF 100KB)

The notifications will be statutory notifications under section 102 of the Water Industry Act 1991 of the proposal to vest (take ownership of) the sewers specified in the notice. They will trigger a two month statutory appeal period, enabling those owners of private sewers or third parties with an interest (third party landowners through whose land a sewer may pass) to appeal to Ofwat against the proposal. After the expiry of the appeal period the water and sewerage companies will issue a formal declaration of vesting that completes the process. The regulations specify that the date for this must be 1 October 2011.

Key publications and documents

• Consultation on new-build sewers mandatory adoption and standards (December 2011)
• Consultation on Private Sewers Transfer (August 2010)
• Impact Assessment of transfer of private sewers and lateral drains to statutory water and sewerage companies (November 2008) (PDF)
• Summary of responses to the consultation: Private Sewers Transfer – Implementation Options: July – October 2007 (March 2008) (PDF)
• Consultation on Private Sewers Transfer – Implementation Options (July 2007) (PDF)
• Review of Existing Private Sewers and Drains in England and Wales, Regulatory Impact Assessment (March 2007) (PDF)