Village Sewer

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Cumbrian73
Cumbrian73 Posts: 4 Newbie
in Water bills
Our village has about 10 houses all built before 1900 and all are connected to a sewer which drains to a fairly old (c.1930s) septic tank (which probably then drains into the river). United Utilities are our local water and sewage provider but say they have no record of our sewer so it is not their responsibiliy. However I believe that the sewer, being a Section 24 pre 1937 sewer, should be their responsibility. Can anyone clarify or confirm this? Thanks

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  • Cardew
    Cardew Posts: 29,037 Forumite
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    Welcome to the forum.

    I would have thought that a sewer draining to a septic tank would be the responsibility of the properties connected to that sewer. There are plenty of farm complexes with buildings, farmhouses, cottages etc connected to a common septic tank and the responsibility for the drains and emptying of the tank falls to the occupants of the complex.

    You might wish to contact the Consumer Council for Water https://www.ccwater.org.uk/ for advice.
  • Cumbrian73
    Cumbrian73 Posts: 4 Newbie
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    Thanks for the reference. From the FAQs on that site:-


    My house was built before 1937, who is responsible for the sewer?

    Published 02/06/2009 01.18 PM | Updated 11/02/2015 10.39 AM

    If your property was built before 1937 and the drain serves two or more properties it may be the responsibility of the sewerage company to maintain. Your company will be able to identify who is responsible.
  • spiro
    spiro Posts: 6,403 Forumite
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    Cumbrian73 wrote: »
    Thanks for the reference. From the FAQs on that site:-


    My house was built before 1937, who is responsible for the sewer?

    Published 02/06/2009 01.18 PM | Updated 11/02/2015 10.39 AM

    If your property was built before 1937 and the drain serves two or more properties it may be the responsibility of the sewerage company to maintain. Your company will be able to identify who is responsible.
    That is talking about a sewer, you are talking about a septic tank setup which is completely different. I'm niot aware sewage companies ever installed septic tanks, property owners fitted them.
    IT Consultant in the utilities industry specialising in the retail electricity market.

    4 Credit Card and 1 Loan PPI claims settled for £26k, 1 rejected (Opus).
  • Cardew
    Cardew Posts: 29,037 Forumite
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    edited 1 September 2019 at 10:42AM
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    Cumbrian73 wrote: »
    Thanks for the reference. From the FAQs on that site:-


    My house was built before 1937, who is responsible for the sewer?

    Published 02/06/2009 01.18 PM | Updated 11/02/2015 10.39 AM

    If your property was built before 1937 and the drain serves two or more properties it may be the responsibility of the sewerage company to maintain. Your company will be able to identify who is responsible.

    Your statement is not in dispute, three pre-1937 houses drain into the sewer that serves my house, and hence Severn Trent Water have taken over responsibility for that sewer.

    The difference is that my sewer feeds into a larger 'main' sewer and it is Severn Trent's responsibility to treat that sewerage. Also crucially we separately pay Severn Trent sewerage charges to 'handle'! our sewerage; incidentally those charges are higher than for the supply of water.

    Presumably you don't pay United Utilities full sewerage charges?

    EDIT Aside from the above, your quote includes the following ' it may be the responsibility of the sewerage company to maintain.'
  • brewerdave
    brewerdave Posts: 8,509 Forumite
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    Different water authority but....a couple of years ago, an ex colleague of mine living in a rural village, had a problem with their house outlet sewer draining into a common septic tank- Welsh Water (Dwr Cymru) got involved because there was overspill into street drains. The householders were told, in no uncertain terms, that it was totally their responsibility!!
  • Cumbrian73
    Cumbrian73 Posts: 4 Newbie
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    Thanks for all the comments which are appreciated and many of which I agree with. However this is an old sewer,
    The Water Utilities didn’t exist before 1974 and pre 1937 sewers were governed by the 1875 Public Health Act which legislated that “[FONT=&quot]existing and future sewers within the district of a local authority .................shall vest in and be under the control of such local authority.” It also defines sewers as “sewers of every description”. The Act created Sanitary Boards as the local authority and these eventually became Rural District Councils. [/FONT]
    [FONT=&quot]It must be remembered that in 1875 septic tanks and sewage treatment plants had not been invented and all sewage treatment was by dilution (pipe it to the nearest watercourse). Even Bazalgette’s famous London Sewer merely transferred London’s sewage untreated into the tidal Thames downstream of London at Deptford.[/FONT]
    [FONT=&quot]I believe it was our local Rural District Council which built our septic tank as the responsible local authority under the 1875 Act. However when responsibility was transferred to United Utilities several of our local village schemes were not included.[/FONT]
    [FONT=&quot]This all might be a bit too complicated for a Forum but I just wondered if anyone had any relevant experience of our problem.[/FONT]
    [FONT=&quot]Sewage can be really interesting when you dig into it![/FONT]
  • Cardew
    Cardew Posts: 29,037 Forumite
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    Do you currently pay United Utilities full sewerage charges?

    Are you aware of any properties, with septic tanks, where the water companies take responsibility for their sewerage(with or without payment)

    'My' sewer serves 5 properties(three pre-1937) and runs under the garden of each property. Each property has always paid full water charges and until 2009 were responsible for any repair/blockage.

    Presumably your concern is the forthcoming 2020 regulations for septic tanks? There are plenty of firms that will offer free advice e.g. https://tricel.co.uk/septic-tank-options-for-homeowners/
  • Cumbrian73
    Cumbrian73 Posts: 4 Newbie
    edited 3 September 2019 at 6:06PM
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    No-one in the village pays sewerage charges. The few new builds or barn conversions have dedicated septic tanks. I'm not aware of any septic tanks operated by the water companies; I suspect that any they would admit to owning have been converted to mini sewage plants.
    From records I have found the village system was originally built by the local sanitary board around 1900 and the septic tank added around 1930 by their successor the Rural District Council with a financial contribution from the County Council. Than at some point during reorganisation or privatisation responsibility for it seems to have been relinquished. How or why or to who I've not worked out.
    You're right we are concerned about 2020 regs.
    I'm still investigating!
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