Thames Water - Manhole - who is responsible for cost to buil

[allisont]

Hi All

We are trying to demolish a 1930's house and build a new property. Thames water map shows a surface drain running through our property. The manhole is two roads up.. on trying to put a camera down it they hit a tree trunk. The other end of the pipe disappears in our garden.! (our garden backs on to a railway embankment).

We have dug a trench the full width of the garden to a depth of 2m but haven't found it it.

We intend to pile our footings.

Thames Water are happy for us to proceed... but want us when finding the pipe to build a manhole so that they can inspect the pipe to ensure we haven't damaged it.

At who''s cost would this be - ours or Thames Water.??????

Any advice would be very much appreciated.

Kind Regards

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Is the drain shared or only serving your property? Have they said you will have to foot the bill?

 

[allisont]

Hi.. it's shared.

The build over notice from Developer Services Thames Water says..
No objection to demolition work.
Unable to CCTV sewer due to operational problems
Once pipe uncovered if in poor condition needs replacing with a new section of clayware pipe at your own expense.
A new manhole built to Sewers for Adoption 6th edition should be constructed to the front of the property - we will CCTV at the end of the works if operational issues have been resolved.
(*OPERATIONAL PROBLEMS being tree trunk at one manhole and they can't trace the other end of the drain).

The drain runs through the middle of our 1930's house so is very old.

It seems unfair that we are unable to survey the state of the drain before commencing our work. TW seem to want us to foot the cost of building a new manhole so that they can survey afterwards... hopefully they will be able to correct assess what damage was caused by wear and tear and what damage may be caused by us.

Many thanks
Allison

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Thames Water are happy for us to proceed... but want us when finding the pipe to build a manhole so that they can inspect the pipe to ensure we haven't damaged it.

At who''s cost would this be - ours or Thames Water.??????

You've read the info on their website about charges for this and that - what do you think?

And if you have doubts, wouldn't it be better to ask them?

A new manhole built to Sewers for Adoption 6th edition should be constructed to the front of the property

I think the fact that they have told you what the spec of the manhole has to be is a pretty big clue.

It seems unfair that we are unable to survey the state of the drain before commencing our work.

It's 80 years old, or more - I don't think that fairness is a concept relevant to the difficulties of surveying it given its inevitable deterioration.

hopefully they will be able to correct assess what damage was caused by wear and tear and what damage may be caused by us.

They will, but they may not care whether you caused it or not:

Once pipe uncovered if in poor condition needs replacing with a new section of clayware pipe at your own expense

But it would be worth reading these - //search.diynot.com/forum_sear...0&author=maltaron&search=Search+Forum&stype=0 - in some of them Maltaron reports his battle with a water company about paying for repairs to their sewer which was in a state anyway, not because he damaged it. It took some perseverance but he got a result in the end.

 

[cjard]

Hi.. it's shared.

Not if you're the last house on the pipe

See the diagram here:
http://www.unitedutilities.com/sewers-and-drains-explained.aspx

Decide where you are in that diagram, then you'll know who should be paying for the drains?

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Not if you're the last house on the pipe

You mean first.

I'm not entirely sure from what the OP has said that it's a drain her house is even connected to.

 

[allisont]

Thanks for your replies.

The end of the drain as per the map - disappears in our garden.

Even the water board can't tell us what the drain is for... its not sewer.

We and the water board don't think the drain is connected to anybody's property.

Thanks
Allison

 

[cjard]

Not if you're the last house on the pipe

You mean first.

I said what I meant; we approach things from a different perspective, and clearly you're all down hill

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Over the hill more like!

 

[cjard]

Thames Water are happy for us to proceed... but want us when finding the pipe to build a manhole so that they can inspect the pipe to ensure we haven't damaged it.

If they ever call:

"yeah, that pipe you said you wanted? Yeah, we never found it"

 

[ban-all-sheds]

I said what I meant; we approach things from a different perspective, and clearly you're all down hill

In my world downhill is the direction that stuff in drains runs.

Long may it remain so.