Boundaries, an issue that is constantly questioned by customers and professionals alike as to who is responsible? Well we can shed some light on this and help put your minds at ease as to who looks after what.
First of all we would like to bring your attention to the illustration below.
An illustration to highlight the boundaries and responsibilities of clean water.
Here you will notice 4 distinct markings, pink which highlights the Homeowners responsibility, cyan which demonstrates the property owners shared responsibility, blue which is the responsibility solely of the utility water company and a black dashed line which represents the property boundaries. To put minds at ease we have broken these down further and elaborated on each areas responsibilities so that you know exactly where you stand should you need to call out professionals in the event of an emergency, such as a blocked drain or a collapsed pipe.
Homeowners responsibility:
Homeowners are responsible for the water supply pipe up to the ESV (External Stop Valve) or water metre, even if it crosses over to private or publicly owned land.
Property owners shared responsibility:
Shared water supply pipes are the joint responsibility of all homeowners whose property is served by the pipe.
Utility water company responsibility (AKA the communication pipe):
Most water companies accept responsibility for the pipes up to and including the water stop valve, even if it is located within the property boundary. However, this can vary across the different water companies.
For more information or to speak to one of our team please call us on 0333 344 2937.
Frequently Asked Questions
What if the drain is not my responsibility?
To assess the responsibility, please refer to the illustration above. Should the engineer on site deem the drain as not your responsibility, UKDN Waterflow will advise which utility company to contact and seek assistance from; and UKDN Waterflow will support you as best we can in your communications with the utility company.
What if the water supply pipe is shared with my neighbours?
To help you assess the responsibility please refer to the illustrations above. Shared water supply pipes are the joint responsibility of all homeowners whose property is served by the pipe. The repiar costs may need to be split between the sharing owners and their respective insurance companies if needed.
What if the repair work involves work on a public highway?
It is unlikely that the repair work will involve working from the public highway. However, should this be the case, UKDN Waterflow will organise with the local authority all the necessary paperwork required to obtain a road opening license prior to the work commencing. This can take several weeks to acquire but UKDN Waterflow will endeavour to obtain this from the local authority as quickly as possible. We will keep you fully informed on the progress of the request. In the event of any query or if you have any questions our claims team will be delighted to help.