Surface Water (drainage) Rebate

anotherbaldrick

If you own or pay water rates on a property and the surface water (rainwater) does not drain to the Water Authority Sewers , but to a soakaway ,ditch or other watercourse you are entitled to a rebate on your water rate bill which assumes it goes to the sewers unless you prove otherwise. You will need to write to your Water Authority and claim this rebate stating the reasons by which you know otherwise

Ie :- You know from plans or information your property drains to soakaways, or ditch or stream and you know the outfall position or that you have put a water trace (buckets of water with some white emulsion paint in ) down the gullies at the foot of the rainwater pipes and none appears in the house drainage system (Lift manhole covers) The Council can possibly help you as well.

If your claim is sound the rebate is usually about £20 per bill , but do it now because they will not backdate the rebate to when charging started in 2000
Moral , turn over the bill and read the small prining on the back.
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Cardew

There are literally hundreds of posts about Surface Water Drainage(SWD) on this part of MSE. do a search for the term.

The charges(and hence rebate if you get one) can be far more than £20. (£79.46 in my case.) Different companies work it out in different ways.

It is also pertinent to point out that surface water must not enter the sewers anywhere, so if some runs off your land onto the road and subsequently into the sewer system you are not exempt.

Whilst water companies will not backdate beyond the beginning of the financial year(backed by an ofwat ruling) it has been reported on MSE that retrospective claims for several years have been successful.

It has also been reported that a property had claimed an exemption of SWD charges, but on change of occupant/getting a meter, that the charge got re-instated. I am certain that this was an error, probably in the account computer input, but worth checking.

P.S.
If you don't know if you have a soakaway, and can't find out, make the claim and let the water company disprove your claim.