Surface water drainage for non-household customers
Surface water drainage occurs when rainwater falls on a property and drains away. Most rainwater falling on properties drains into public sewers owned by the ten water and sewerage companies in England and Wales. The companies are responsible for removing and processing this rainwater. It costs about £600 million a year to provide this service. If rainwater drains from your property into a public sewer, you will be charged for surface water drainage through your sewerage bill.
Find out information on what surface water drainage is.
Surface water drainage rebates for non-connection
If none of your surface water drains into the public sewer system, but you are paying surface water drainage charges, you should contact your company regarding an application for a surface water drainage rebate. They will explain the kind of evidence that they require. If you qualify, the company will stop charging you for this service and provide a refund (or ‘rebate’) for any charges you have paid during the year. Unless you can demonstrate that the company would have known about non-connection, rebates will only be backdated to the current charging year.
Find out more about surface water drainage rebates.
Site area based charging
Some water and sewerage companies have changed the way that they charge for this service from the historic use of rateable values to charges based on the size of the area being drained.Any change in the basis of charging will mean that some customers see an increase in their bills while others pay less than they used to.
How does surface water drainage affect community organisations?
What is the latest situation with surface water drainage charging and United Utilities?
