Lifting the burden of
responsibility for private sewers from householders - Government
seeks views
DEPARTMENT FOR
ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS News Release (229/07) issued by
The Government News Network on 25 July 2007
Defra has today
published details of a plan to release householders from a
liability most don't even realise they have - until something
goes wrong and they face a bill for fixing the problem.
It's estimated that as many as 50% of properties connect to
private sewers, and that most other properties connect to a public
sewer via a lateral drain. Currently these are the responsibility
of the owners of the properties they serve, often without their
knowledge. When they need repair the costs can be significant.
In response to the concerns of householders, Defra announced in
February that private sewers and lateral drains draining to the
public sewer system should be transferred into the ownership of
the nine statutory water and sewerage companies in England. Defra
committed to a public consultation on how this transfer should
happen, and on measures to prevent the proliferation of new
private sewers and the recurrence of existing problems.
The consultation is published today at http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/sewers-transfer/index.htm.
It closes on 19 October 2007. The main options outlined are:
* Automatic overnight transfer from a set date: All private
sewers transfer into the ownership of the water and sewerage
companies from a set date. Those which do not drain by gravity
would transfer at a later date. There is no requirement for owners
to apply to have their sewers transferred, or for owners to carry
out works to bring their sewers up to a standard.
* Automatic phased transfer from a set date: As above but phased
over a period of time (10-30 years). Consideration would need to
be given to how phasing is prioritised, for example whether those
in worst condition are transferred first.
* On owners' application, without conditions: Owners would
be required to apply to Water and Sewerage Companies for transfer
of their sewers but would not be required to carry out any works
on their sewers to bring them up to a standard.
* On owners' application, with conditions: Owners would have
to apply to Water and Sewerage Companies for their sewers to be
adopted and the sewers would have to be of a serviceable standard.
The consultation is also asking whether all new sewers should be
built to a minimum standard in order to prevent the problems with
private sewers re-occurring in the future, how this should be
enforced, and whether they should automatically be adopted as
public sewers.
Environment Minister Phil Woolas said:
"The current system places an unfair burden on those
householders who are served by private sewers and lateral drains.
They pay the same sewerage bills as those served only by public
sewers but on top of that have to foot the bill for maintenance
when things go wrong.
"We have already committed to putting an end to this
discrepancy. The proposals published today consider how this
should happen. There are significant environmental gains to be
made, as well as offering peace of mind to householders."
Notes to editors
1. An extensive review of private sewers and drains in England
and Wales began in 2001 in response to concerns from householders
who, by default, own and are responsible for the sewer serving
their property. Private sewers serve at least two properties, so
are owned by two or more neighbours. Often, the majority of a
sewer will run outside the boundary of the properties it serves.
Lateral drains serve a single property but always lie outside its
boundary, e.g. under a public highway.
2. The Government launched a public consultation in July 2003 to
explore potential solutions. The Government's response to
that consultation (2004) concluded that there was 'a clear
case for action to be taken' and noted the high level of
support among consultees for ownership of existing private sewers
and lateral drains to be transferred to water and sewerage
companies. More detail on the Review can be found at: http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/water/industry/sewers/index.htm
3. The Government made a commitment to examine the option to
transfer in more depth and Defra and the Welsh Assembly Government
(WAG) carefully considered the case for transfer, assisted by a
steering group comprising the economic regulator Ofwat, the
industry body Water UK, the Consumer Council for Water (CCWater)
and officials from Communities and Local Government (CLG) and
local authorities.
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