In the last part of his series about making sure your building plot is connected to utilities, Tim Doherty discusses how to ensure a suitable water supply is in place

Tim Doherty

There are 32 regulated companies supplying a mix of services for water and sewage supplies in England and Wales – 19 regionals, five locals and eight licencees who deal with the bigger users. These are all regulated by Ofwat, which is a non-ministerial government department established in 1989 when these services were privatised. The regulator aims to look after the consumer by ensuring good standards of customer service and acceptable pricing. In Scotland, you will deal with Scottish Water, which is a publicly-owned business.

In some parts of England and Wales, water supply and sewage collection are managed by the same company – accounting for 10 of the 19 regionals. The logic behind this link is simple; we drink very little of the water supplied to us and, consequently, in excess of 95% must therefore be taken away in sewers. The other nine are supply-only, which means sewage collection is managed by a partner firm, potentially giving you two separate monthly bills.

Assessing your options

If you’re buying a rural plot with no history of housing then you may find getting your main services to site is going to be expensive. Even if it’s a brownfield site (ie somewhere that has been built on in the past, but not for residential use) any historic water supplies may be unreliable and are likely to be distributed through lead or corroded steel pipes.