Sewer Adoption

If you’re connecting to the public sewer network by either a lateral drain (i.e. a drain which extends beyond the connecting property boundary) or a new sewer (i.e. serves more than one property), you’ll probably need to enter into an adoption agreement with us (Water Industry Act 1991).

When it comes to designing sewers and lateral drains that you want us to adopt, they must comply with the Design Guide ‘Sewers for Adoption 7th Edition' standards as well as the Welsh Ministers Standards for Gravity Foul Sewers and Lateral Drains.

You also must prove that you (or your contractor) are able to safely access the public sewer network, by demonstrating that you have the appropriate health and safety systems and processes in place.

What do you need to know?

• You will probably need to enter into an adoption agreement with us before building a new lateral drain or sewer.
• All sewers and lateral drains must comply with Design Guide ‘Sewers for Adoption 7th Edition' standards and the Welsh Ministers Standards for Gravity Foul Sewers and Lateral Drains.
• If either you or your contractor want to access our public sewer network, you must prove you have the appropriate health and safety systems and processes in place.
• We will only allow contractors to access the network once we’ve confirmed that they are a member organisation the Safe Schemes in Procurement (SSIP) accreditation process.
• SSIP is endorsed by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which has brought together numerous existing Health and Safety accreditation bodies under the SSIP umbrella.
• When we receive a sewer connection application, we will satisfy ourselves that the appointed contractor has the necessary SSIP accreditation. We will then send both you and your appointed contractor a copy of the approval letter which will outline the next steps.

Want to know more?

If you want to find out more about the Safe Schemes in Procurement (SSIP) organisation, visit its website.