Feeding into waste water drain behind house?

andre_xs

Dear All,
We live in a terraced ex council house from the mid 1950s. It seems that all wastewater from the houses goes into a drain pipe which runs behind the houses, approx 2m distance from the houses. We have two access points to these drains (they seem to be every two houses).
I was wondering: Is it possible / allowed to feed an extra drain into this? We have a shed in the back garden and consider to put in a sink and a toilet (probably one with a shredder and pump) and it seems a bit 'stupid' to first pass those drains, make a whole into the wall of the house, feed into the house's drain, which then goes back to the main waste drain in the garden anyway...
TIA! 

ka7e

If you feed back into the house would you be able to get the correct fall to take away waste? Cutting into the existing drain needs the involvement of the local council building control office, who will want to see plans and carry out a site inspection - and will charge you.

andre_xs

If you feed back into the house would you be able to get the correct fall to take away waste?
No, we wouldn't, which is why we'd look into a toilet with a pump. All at pretty early planning stages at the moment...

chrisw

It's not that straight forward. 

To connect into the shared sewer you would need consent from the local water utility company. They will request proper plans and drawings, charge a fee of £200 to £300 or more and may impose a load of conditions such as requiring qualified contractors to do the work, public liability insurance, restricted hours of working, site inspections, etc.

andre_xs

chrisw said:

It's not that straight forward. 

To connect into the shared sewer you would need consent from the local water utility company. They will request proper plans and drawings, charge a fee of £200 to £300 or more and may impose a load of conditions such as requiring qualified contractors to do the work, public liability insurance, restricted hours of working, site inspections, etc.

Thanks. What about the pipe which runs from the house to the shared sewer. Is that still our property, or does it belong to the water company?

FreeBear

andre_xs said: What about the pipe which runs from the house to the shared sewer. Is that still our property, or does it belong to the water company?

Between your house, and the shared drain is usually your responsibility. If you are planning on connecting to this part of the foul water drain, you'll still need to have the work signed off by Building Control.

russ1260

Hi all united utilities has been charging me for handling my rain water along with my sewage water when in fact the rain water has been directed through drainage channels to a pond.  United Utilities have repaid me the last 6 years of over charges and will not go back any further but I have been overpaying for 27 years, where do I stand?

Ectophile

russ1260 said:

Hi all united utilities has been charging me for handling my rain water along with my sewage water when in fact the rain water has been directed through drainage channels to a pond.  United Utilities have repaid me the last 6 years of over charges and will not go back any further but I have been overpaying for 27 years, where do I stand?

You're not going to get any more money out of them.  If nothing else, the Limitations Act kicks in after 6 years (5 in Scotland), so you can't sue them.

You are supposed to tell them that you want a reduced bill because you're handling your own runoff.

Davesnave

russ1260 said:

Hi all united utilities has been charging me for handling my rain water along with my sewage water when in fact the rain water has been directed through drainage channels to a pond.  United Utilities have repaid me the last 6 years of over charges and will not go back any further but I have been overpaying for 27 years, where do I stand?

Same place as the utility company who supplied my neighbour with free water for 30 years, I expect. He moved out a few weeks ago and the incoming owner couldn't find a meter, mainly because there wasn't one.

It was your responsibility to inform the utility company if you were at some disadvantage because of the existing arrangement.

shinytop

Davesnave said:

russ1260 said:

Hi all united utilities has been charging me for handling my rain water along with my sewage water when in fact the rain water has been directed through drainage channels to a pond.  United Utilities have repaid me the last 6 years of over charges and will not go back any further but I have been overpaying for 27 years, where do I stand?

Same place as the utility company who supplied my neighbour with free water for 30 years, I expect. He moved out a few weeks ago and the incoming owner couldn't find a meter, mainly because there wasn't one.

It was your responsibility to inform the utility company if you were at some disadvantage because of the existing arrangement.

Or the garage at my old house, whose water was supplied by my neighbour's house.  I would never have known except I broke the tap and had to turn off his supply from the street for a few minutes to replace it.  He (RIP) was a grumpy old git so I never told him. I also forgot to tell the new owners in all the excitement of moving.   

russ1260

Thanks all for you feedback I thought that such a large utility company would have based there decision on the law but anyway better late than never and I did get a payment and also slightly reduced bills from now on.