Mains leak in my back garden - Who pays ?

[Estrella]

Hi folks,

In the last two hours a leak has been noticed in a raised flower bed in my rear garden. Basically it looks like a natural spring has developed and the water is obviously rising to the surface of the earth and bubbling away.

Coincidentally my water co. are doing major repairs to the water supply about a mile up the road.

The leak is just within my garden boundary about 5 metres from my back door. I have spoken to the 'emergency hotline' and asked who will be expected to pay for this work but he was little more than someone taking messages out of hours and didn't know or wouldn't commit.


Is there a rule for thumb for water companies and what they will and won't pay for ?


Many thanks

 

[Deleted member 105431]

on your property it's your problem. can be big money. . . .

 

[mickyg]

it is your problem as long as it is the supply to your property from the stop tap at the boundary.

 

[Estrella]

on your property it's your problem. can be big money. . . .

Just found this. Looks hopeful.

http://www.deevalleywater.co.uk/article.php?id=66

There are a few get out clauses (predictably) , but better than a straight s*d off!

If it is my responsibility it will stay leaking I'm afraid. No money = no repair

 

[EddieM]

I presume you're not on a meter then?

 

[Estrella]

I presume you're not on a meter then?

No, thank God.

We are going through a fairly major financial meltdown at the moment, so unless they will fund the repair or I can fix it easily myself it will stay leaking until such time as I can afford to have it done.

 

[EddieM]

I presume you're not on a meter then?

No, thank God.

We are going through a fairly major financial meltdown at the moment, so unless they will fund the repair or I can fix it easily myself it will stay leaking until such time as I can afford to have it done.

Could cause a lot of secondary damage

 

[Fluffster]

Can you at least turn off the supply from outside your boundary?

If the pipe is lead you could excavate around the leak and attach a leadlock compression joint as a stop gap measure.

Pete

 

[Estrella]

Could cause a lot of secondary damage

Yeah that did occur to me. Subsidence being one of the concerns. The water is bubbling up to the surface and i have that routed all that down the sewer. It's how much isn't coming to the surface though, and is going underground.

Can you at least turn off the supply from outside your boundary?

I can, but that would also knock the water out to my 2 neighbours, so I'd have to inform them if it came to that.

If the pipe is lead you could excavate around the leak and attach a leadlock compression joint as a stop gap measure.

Good point. I am semi capable. By that I mean I fitted two complete bathrooms last year and can replace rads etc, so as long at the job doesn't require anything other than basic skills I should be OK.

I am sure the pipe will be lead as the property is over 120 years old, and to my knowledge there has never been any previous remedial work carried out.


Thanks for the help fella's

 

[Hugh Jaleak]

If its a shared supply then could well be a shared responsibility to finance cost of repairs.

 

[kirkgas]

check with the council to see if a grant is available to renew the lead, up here it used to be about 75%

 

[Estrella]

Hugh/Kirk,
Thanks Fellas. Both good points that I'll bring up with the water co. when they eventually arrive.

 

[JayJay1978]

I don't know the set up of you're house but if you had a celler and the indoor stoptap was down there, you would be able to see what the pipe was made from.

Could be lead, black plastic (alkathene) , blue MDPE in new (unlikely).

What pipe is on the incoming side of you're mains stoptap?

Try and find out and measure the size and report back.

 

[Nige F]

Galvanized screwed steel

 

[Estrella]

Galvanized screwed steel

Are you saying that is what the pipe could also be made out of Nige?


Inspector is round tommorow morning from the Water Co. so I'm wanting to work damn hard on him to get him to cough up for the cost!