Yorkshire Water - Sewage flood damage

cc121

Hi everyone, thanks for viewing. Anyone know if Yorkshire Water are liable for damage caused by sewage floods. There has been ongoing issues with the sewers in my street for 15 years plus, its never been sorted and floods every 2-3 years. This time my house flooded throught the man hole in my garden, sewage covered the garden, the cellar, garage. Yorkshire Water found the fault 17 meters away, they cleared up, leaving the cellar full of sewage and patio area covered in black, the hot tub on the patio was in 5 inch of sewage for about 40 minutes. We complained they said "we own the sewers but not the contents". After getting ofwat involved and complaining like mad, we have finally got a company coming to restore the garden and clean the cellar (9 days after it happened) we have had a stinking house for that long! It was a real battle to get it, I am mad that we had to fight so hard to get our house restored! One thing they are refusing to sort is the Hot tub. Saying they are not liable, our home insurance does not cover the tub, so yorkshire water say tough. Its an old rickety old thing but reliable! we were given it by a friend. Its probably worth £1000, which is near what we have been quoted to fully inspect and strip all the parts. I can probably prove yorkshire water are responsible for not maintaining the sewers but could I take them to small claims for the cost of repairing the hot tub, they say I cant? Anyone ever taken a water company to court, I am confused about whether they can deny liability :mad:

anotherbaldrick

You need to collate as much historical record as you can going back over the years , from what you and neighbours can remember and can document. Look also at the reports in the archives of the local press and then get a qualified engineer to write a report on the ongoing problems and his assessment of the cause . You can then launch a claim for damages and nuisance against the Water Authority.

Loadsofchildren123

Google the case of Marcic v Thames Water

Loadsofchildren123

I know it's a bit late, but btw water companies HATE complaints. Complain to the CEO/MD. Ask for their code of practice on sewage leaks. They particularly hate OFWAT complaints because they are heavily regulated, so definitely carry on with that, particularly if they have not complied with their own code.
Ownership of the actual sewerage is irrelevant I think. It leaked out of their faulty pipe. Under the Marcic case, they are liable if they knew their system was faulty and didn't take reasonable steps to rectify them. Did you read it? If they are now accepting liability, you need to get a land agent/surveyor to represent you and they will pay their costs - find someone experienced in negotiating with water companies (lots of surveyors are - they negotiate things like compensation when works take place on private land to lay/replace water/sewerage pipes etc).

qazitory

Can I ask if you were successful? Our home was flooded in July last year and it was Yorkshre Water's fault but we are having a fight to get them to accept liability.