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Environment Agency confirms enforcement position on transferred sewers


Sewerage authorities in England and Wales will only be prosecuted for minor environmental incidents involving recently transferred sewers and lateral drains if they are negligent, the Environment Agency (EA) has confirmed.

In a position statement (3-page / 85KB) on former privately-maintained sewers and drains, the EA has stated that it will only pursue enforcement action if there is evidence of negligence or where the incident has resulted in significant environmental impact.

Responsibility for maintenance of residential and commercial private sewers and lateral drains transferred from private property owners to public sewerage undertakers on 1 October. Transitional arrangements regarding enforcement will apply for the first six months, the EA said.

This is due to the EA recognising that "it will take a period of time for sewerage undertakers to ascertain the condition and serviceability of the transferred sewers", it said.

A sewer is a pipe that serves more than one property, while a drain serves only one property. A lateral drain is that part of a drain which is outside of a property boundary.

Private property owners are now only responsible for the maintenance of drains within their property boundary.

The EA says that the "specification, design, standards of construction and condition" of the transferred sewers is not expected to be as good as the existing public system. This means that recently transferred sewers could cause overflows and pollution problems.

After the six month transitional period has passed, the EA says it will consider the sewerage undertaker's maintenance strategy before deciding on suitable enforcement action. Maintenance and upgrades on transferred sewers and drains should take priority, it says.

The sewerage undertaker will also be expected to monitor transferred gravity sewers and pumping stations. Maintenance work on gravity sewers will be "primarily reactive" unless repeat problems have already been highlighted by the EA, local authority or residents. The EA expects undertakers to check that transferred pumping stations are of serviceable standard and to perform maintenance or upgrades where this is not the case.

"A sewerage undertaker's strategy will be expected to evolve over time as better knowledge is obtained regarding transferred assets... and other factors that may emerge," the statement said.

A second transfer for sewers which are not yet connected to the public network will be announced at a future date. New private sewers and drains that connect to the public network after that second cut-off date will have to be built to a minimum national standard, and the owner must first enter into an adoption agreement with the sewerage company before the connection can be made.

A government consultation on the new-build standard is expected shortly.

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