Mains water leak on my land

dolcelatte

I have what appears to be a mains water leak dripping into the grid under my kitchen window. When I switch the water off at the stopcock,  the leak continues. I had some problems a few years back with an old supply pipe (water has since been rerouted to a front entry point) that was still on my land and still live. We managed to get the water company to switch it off at the junction outside. I was wondering if this is something connected with that? I'm worried the Utilities company will say it's nothing to do with them, as it's on my land and it's not the mains or communication pipe that they are responsible for... but neither is it the supply pipe as that is now at the fron of the house. As I see it it's an old pipe that Utilities have negligently left which is trespassing on my land. If it's not this, I can't imagine what it would be given that closing the stopcock doesn't stop the flow. Any thoughts? 

Ebe_Scrooge

Usually the water-board's responsibility stops at the main valve on the pavement outside your house - anything between that and your house is your responsibility.

(Oh, and an inanimate object cannot commit the tort of trespass )

dolcelatte

If I trained a hose at your front door, would that be your responsibility?

Ectophile

Assuming it's actually from a pipe, you'd have to get some idea of what sort of pipe it is and where it's coning from.

Maybe it is a disuaed water pipe.  Or a land drain from a natural spring.  Or an overflow from something that's over-filling.

anotheruser

You may see it as an old pipe that has been left, but NOBODY else will.

If you're under Severn Trent, check out Homeserve.
Check the Ts & Cs as there may be something to do with existing problems but you can join with their offer of £12 a year then pay the £30 flat rate fee and get the pipe replaced.

Ebe_Scrooge

dolcelatte said:

If I trained a hose at your front door, would that be your responsibility?

I'm not sure I understand your point there.  This is totally different to someone squirting a hosepipe at your front door.  I was merely pointing out that the usual "rules" are that any pipework that runs between the main stop-valve in the pavement and your house is your responsibility to maintain, not the water-board's (OK, I know they're not called "the water board" these days, but your supplier).

Section62

anotheruser said:

If you're under Severn Trent, check out Homeserve.
Check the Ts & Cs as there may be something to do with existing problems but you can join with their offer of £12 a year then pay the £30 flat rate fee and get the pipe replaced.

The OP's post suggests the service pipe has already been replaced with a new connection.  The pipe suspected of leaking has been abandoned.

I'm not sure Homeserve will cover an abandoned pipe, let alone replace it.

Section62

dolcelatte said:

If I trained a hose at your front door, would that be your responsibility?

No.  But that isn't what your water supplier is doing.

Unless the pipe that is possibly leaking is in fact a connection to a neighbouring property, the pipe will be yours and your responsibility to repair if it is causing a problem.  The water supplier has no obligation to remove your redundant service pipe when they connect up your new one.

You could ask the water company whether they would be willing to test a sample of the water to see if it is from the mains (the chemical composition will indicate this) but they would probably be doing this as a favour rather than being obligated to.  If they refuse, then you should get a sample of the water tested using a private laboratory - asking for an opinion on what the source is.