Overview

Regulations to transfer virtually all private sewers to the water and sewage companies are now in force. This briefing from Eversheds explains how the transfer will take effect, and steps landowners who wish sewers to remain in their ownership need to take.

It is not generally appreciated that many sewers and lateral drains are not publicly adopted, and so are not maintained by the water and sewerage companies but by individual property owners. Main sewers running beneath the middle of roads are generally adopted, although in some cases the sewerage networks for whole housing developments remain unadopted. The lateral drains that connect properties to the main sewers are often private. This means that any costs of repair and maintenance have to be met by the property owners themselves. The Water Industry (Schemes for Adoption of Private Sewers) Regulations 2011 apply to all private sewers and lateral drains in England and Wales except those that are owned by a railway undertaker or are on land belonging to the Crown. With the exception of pumping stations, the transfer will take place on either 1 October 2011 or 1 April 2012.