By Terry Rogers

Public and private sewers

You may not know that there are two types of sewer – private and public.  Responsibility for them is different and it’s expected to alter from October 2011.  We’ve created this page to explain the changes and what it means for you.

Subject to government approval, from October 2011 we’ll take responsibility for 22,000 kilometres of private sewer pipes, on top of the 33,000 kilometres of public sewers we already look after.  This is fantastic news as it provides greater clarity and takes the cost of maintenance and costly repairs away from the homeowner. 

Which pipes are the private sewer pipes?

The difference between a public sewer and a private sewer is a legal difference rather than a practical difference, but there are some general rules that usually apply.

• The pipe that only serves your property is known as a drain, and is private.
• Unless your house was built before 1 October 1937, the pipes taking surface water and waste water away from your property and neighbouring properties will be private.  See diagrams below.   
• The sewers in the roads will generally be public sewers, which typically we’re responsible for.

Who’s responsible for the sewers?

A private sewer is currently the joint responsibility of the owners/occupiers of the properties that drain into it. This responsibility continues up to the point where the private sewer (including the connection) joins a public sewer, where we become responsible for maintenance and repairs. This means that customers can sometimes be responsible for repairs outside their property boundary.

Whether your property was built before 1 October 1937 or after has a bearing on who’s responsible for maintaining the pipework.  As you’ll see on the diagrams below, if your house was built after this point you’re responsible for all drains and sewers up to the main sewer in the road. If you live in a property built before 1 October 1937, responsibilities are shared and can depend on the type of property you live in.

This is all due to change in 2011 – read on for more information.

If your house was built after 1937

If your house was built before 1st 1937

How will responsibility change?

We’ll be taking over the responsibility for privately-owned sewers and lateral drains (the bit of your pipe that’s outside your boundary).  This is great news for us and you as it brings clarity to a confusing issue and passes the cost of repairs from homeowners to us.  There are currently disputes with us or neighbouring properties when things go wrong as ownership is often not clearly defined.  The change is expected to happen in 2011.

Will all private sewers transfer straight away?

No, sewers that are connected to private pumping stations and treatment plants will not transfer automatically.  The government is still working to understand how this can be achieved.
Sewers that only carry surface water straight to a watercourse may also transfer at a later date.