Environment Food and Rural Affairs written question – answered at on 4 March 2008.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what work is being undertaken to map the underground water drainage network.
The 10 water and sewerage companies in England and Wales have a statutory duty to keep records of the location of every public sewer, lateral drain or disposal main which is vested in them. They must also keep a record of the location of those that are subject to a declaration of vesting and those where an agreement to make such a declaration has been made.
There is no requirement to keep, and no comprehensive record exists of, the location of private sewers or drains. In March 2007, the Government published a Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) to accompany the announcement of its decision to proceed with the transfer of private sewers and drains in England and Wales into the ownership of the water and sewerage companies. The RIA recorded that the unpublished 2002 UK Water Industry Research report, 'The Real Cost of Taking Over Private Sewers and Drains', estimated that a mapping exercise for private sewers would cost £118 million.
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