Sewerage company

According to Ofwat (the water regulator for England and Wales), sewerage companies are the organisations that are responsible for the construction and maintenance of public sewers (typically near roads or other public spaces).

Some companies combine water and sewerage services while other water companies collect sewerage charges on behalf of a sewerage company.

Sewerage companies set their own charges which they publish annually in a charges scheme approved by Ofwat. Business customers may be able to select their sewerage company but residential customers generally cannot. Some residential customers who do not use the public sewerage system do not require the services of sewerage companies.

Since October 2011, the responsibility of the sewerage company extends up to the point where the sewer connects with private drains and sewers, where that responsibility is then transferred to the property owner. If a sewerage company needs to undertake maintenance on infrastructure that is located on private property, it must comply with a code of practice.

[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki

• Difference between drains and sewers.
• Drainage.
• Ofwat.
• Private sewer.
• Public sewer.
• Sewerage.
• Sewers for Scotland.
• Water company.
• Water Industry Act 1991.
• Water transfers and interconnections.

[edit] External resources

• Gov.uk, Written ministerial statement by James Paice on the transfer of existing private sewers and lateral drains in England.