Shared Pipes and low water flow

Jupiter1

Hi,

I am having a real nightmare with South West Water. We recently got a new boiler installed, hoping the water pressure would be better. We have an electric shower which stops working at peak times. I called the customer service centre and they sent an inspector around. I was told, that he straight away knows that we will struggle with water supply to our house as we are on a shared supply pipe, which means that we are sometimes even left without any water. South West Water claims that it is not their problem and we have to have a look to get a direct water supply pipe put towards our house which we have to pay completely for, they even told me that they by law do not have to make sure that we have water, they only have to make sure there is a main water pipe down the road. I am absolutely fuming. :mad:

Any ideas from anyone of you?

Jupiter

Gothicfairy

I am afraid my only real advice would be to see how much it would cost to split the supply as the water company does not have to.

Also there is no law in this country to say that you have to have running water supplied to your property.

Jupiter1

Hi Gothicfairy,

Thank you for your reply. I am very shocked about this. I am speechless to be very honest. This rule or law is absolutely mad. Here in Cornwall I do not want to think how many of us have a shared water supply and are not even aware of it. By the way, do you know that South West Water sells to customers an Insurance for supply pipes over their partner Homeserve, nobody is mentioning, that supply pipes which are not on my property are not covered. They do not even acknowledge them as supply pipes, they even say it is not my responsibility, it is the responsibility of South West Water's. South West Water's puts the responsibility on me. How can I be responsible for something what is not even on my property? When I have a neighbour who does not like me, I am, excuse my French fu..ed. Why are companies like British Gas and EDF are not having such a rule, they have to come and they have to deal with this on their costs. The question is also, how can be shared pipes legal then. What does an OAP do when they cannot afford a repair, live without water? I expected that from a third world country but not from England to be very honest.

Jupiter

deanos

You don't get shared supply's anymore , its only on older houses especially terrace ones where they are common.

And its perfectly legal

eeeeeee

so your on a csp pipe; common supply pipe ; how far away are you form the 1st supply in the chain ? ; are you in a terrace block or semi detached ;? all of things are factors in your supply ; is your supply diminshed at just peak times or is it all the time ?

eeeeeee

are u on lead pipes or ac ... blue plastic ?

eeeeeee

ask your water supplier too test the bar pressure for your supply pipe and then again at the 1st incomming tap in your property ; if it takes more than 2minutes too fill a regular sized black b and q bucket then you have aright too complain ; the clo ... client liason officer will need too make an appointment with you for this ; ask him too explain which number property you are away from the point of join too the supply pipe ; no1 is the nearest and will have very good pressure all the time ... as the higher the number the worse the water pressure will be; its worth arguing that you do not have enough water supply too use your fascilites at your property and that the pressure at the main valve on the water mains needs too be increased

peterbaker

On what qualified basis do two posters spot this thread on a consumerist website and then dare to post one liners asserting that a completely disgraceful situation is perfectly legal :mad: ??

This website exists to challenge such views not to propound them.

Go back to your water company hidey holes


7e's that's more like it ... I am sure there is still an accepted industry minimum flow rate at your tap as 7e's describes even though there may not be a minimum pressure - but to get one you often need the other tweaked as he says :money:

Unlike 7e's, I have no direct ideas on how you tame the water company Jupiter1, but I have little doubt that if the government was not running so scared of other stuff at the moment and if some effective lobbyists heads could be turned for a short while to bringing the water companies to heel then some pretty basic legal challenges could be successfully prosecuted in cases like yours.

I recently have spent a completely necessary £600 to deal with the reduced pressure that Thames Water have progressively applied to the network covering our road over the last couple of years.

It is an abysmal disgrace that water companies have a monopoly and that left alone relatively unchallenged as they effectively are, as a group they do not compete on such matters - they act as a cartel, reduce the service and tell each other and any complainer that it is al perfectly legal.

I don't know if you are indeed an OAP but if you were and especially if you were over 75 I would be hammering the Adult Care Unit of my local council to get something done about it and I would be claiming non-means tested Attendance Allowance as a backstop to pay for any work which I still ended up having to pay myself.

There's more than one way of making this flippin' country work sometimes.

Jupiter1

We are 5 houses who seem to be on this pipe. I am with my neighbour the last one on this pipe which means we have the worst water flow. They won't even check my water pressure in my house. We have huge problems at peak times where we are left with hardly any water. South West Water is not interested in my case, saying it is my problem. The area we live in is very old which is not very unusual in Cornwall. When you call their call centre they have the opposite opinion, they actually told me that these pipes are not my responsibility it would be theirs as I am on a meter and everything before the meter would be South West Water's responsibility, so thinks their Insurance company Homeserve but the water inspector who came around told me it would be my responsibility. They are absolutely incompetent in my eyes and I already filed an official complaint. We will see but how can I sort pipes out which are not on my property?

deanos

Have you tried to make sure the external stoptap is fully open ?

You should be able to fill a 9 litre bucket in around minute from the first tap after the internal stoptap, if not insist someone comes out, if they wont then put in a complaint and they will soon sort you out as complaints are now part of the OFWAT regulations now and impact on there income

Jupiter1

Hi Peter,

Thanks for your reply. I am not an OAP but all my neighbours are and I am really concerned. I will fight it all the way and I am even prepared to speak to the press and to my MP. These pipes run through gardens, where are green houses, patios etc they would to have remove all that and I have to pay for this, they are not even able to tell me how much it will be. The inspector even laughed in my face as I said that there is a big possibility to be without water, he only replied, that this would be my problem. I never ever came across a behaviour like this before.