October 1st marked the transfer of responsibility for private sewers from householders to water companies. It’s a huge shift that may have unforeseen consequences. For the water companies the increase in responsibility is massive, it adds over 200 000 kilometres of sewers to their network and worse the condition and maintenance history of most of these sewers is not known.
It will certainly increase water bills, initial estimate suggest that costs for the water companies could increase by £200 million and it is likely some will apply for an interim determination. It is certain that household insurance bills will not decrease even though insurance companies will no longer be liable for the cost.
There will be a huge increase in the number of calls to water companies. This could have a significant impact on their SIM ranking. The arrangements for handling the increased workload vary with each water company, some are using their tier 1 contractors to mange the process. Certainly the transfer is to be welcomed and once the new arrangements have settled down it should lead to proactive approach to sewer management rather than the wasteful just fix it mentality that previously existed.
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