External Stopcock Repair Responsibility

[BashPlumb]

Hello all

Anyone experience of the following situation and can advise please before I contact the local water company?

Commercial (retail) property. Reduced water pressure.

Upon investigation, believe our external stopcock, which is located within our boundary, is leaking as the chamber is full of water.

Would this be our responsibility or the local water company's (Affinity) to repair?

 

[king of pipes]

I would contact your water company regardless of ownership it's not unusual for a meter chamber to be full of water in the winter ,but add a reduced supply pressure then there could quite possibly be a leak . Kop

 

[Ric2013]

If it is the stopcock closest to the boundary and there isn't another one outside of the boundary, then it will be the water board's responsibility anyway. Even though it is on your land.

 

[BashPlumb]

Appreciate the replies.

Follow up question - plan to call the water company this week - if they subsequently state it is my responsibility to repair, will they then set me a deadline to get the repair done?

Wondered if perhaps I should get some quotes lined up first before calling them so that I am not scrambling around to get this repaired ASAP.

 

[ShaunCorbs]

If it’s on your boundary / your land they will say it’s your responsibility if they do ask them where there main stop tap is so you can work on
Your stop tap

 

[Ben-gee]

Yes, in my experience once flagged up repairs are given a timeframe.

 

[Ric2013]

If it’s on your boundary / your land they will say it’s your responsibility if they do ask them where there main stop tap is so you can work on
Your stop tap

Good call. As there should always be a stopcock that IS the water undertaker's responsibility.

Actually, possible alternative plan is don't report the leak at all, but tell the water board you want to isolate your supply to carry our works and where is their stopcock please. Then if they identify the stopcock in question as being theirs, you show them that it's leaking.

Realistically, I doubt the timeframe will be unrealistic. Anglian Water round here are so boodly slow to deal with small leaks...

 

[Ben-gee]

If there’s a leak which registers on your water meter the point of the time frame is that during that period they will not charge you above your average use- ie not charge you for the lost water. But after the time allocated they may well do do! In reality I’ve always found them reasonable on such matters.

 

[BashPlumb]

Bit of an update.

There doesn't appear to be a stopcock on the highway which would allow us to isolate our supply - just our water meter.

As such, because our water supply cannot be isolated to enable the repair on the stopcock on our land, would the water company take responsibility and do the repair?

 

[snowhead]

Is the water Meter underground in a plastic box in the street / highway?

If so there will be a stop tap but possibly not as you would recognise.
Can you get a photo pointing down at the meter.

If there isn't a stop tap in the street then the Water Co. will fit one F.O.C