Although we are responsible for the repair and maintenance of the water mains, which carry large amounts of water from our treatment works to your street, homeowners are responsible for the pipe that supplies their individual properties.

Properties are connected to our water main through a pipe, the ownership of which can be divided into two parts:

• The 'communication pipe'
  This part of the pipe is our responsibility and runs from our water main to the boundary of your property. 
• The 'supply pipe'
  This part of the pipe is the homeowner's responsibility.  It runs from the property boundary and connects with the inside stop valve which is the tap usually found under the kitchen sink.

The diagram below shows a typical property and the responsibility for the underground pipework:

 

Legal duty to repair pipes

The homeowner has a legal duty to repair leaks on their private pipes under Section 73 of the Water Industry Act 1991.

If the leak is not repaired, we will serve notice under section 75 of the Act. This allows us to enter the property and make the repair ourselves.

If we have to do this, the bill payer will be charged for the full cost of the repair work.