In 2011 the Welsh Government introduced legislation that resulted in the transfer of private gravity sewers and lateral drains (which were connected to the public sewerage system before 1 July 2011) to Welsh Water on 1 October 2011. Before this date Welsh Water had no responsibility for private sewers. See ‘my responsibilities’ page to learn who owns what.

Because very little information was kept by other agencies Welsh Water has limited records of private sewers and no one knows exactly how many sewers transferred from customers to Welsh Water in 2011 or what condition they are in.

Our assessments suggest that the transfer resulted in 17,000km of private sewers and lateral drains to Welsh Water – almost doubling our sewer network overnight.

We are committed to identifying and accounting for the environmental implications of all of our activities, and for recognising and considering opportunities for economically sustainable environmental benefit.

In preparation for the transfer we wrote to all of our 1.2 million customers and worked with many other organisations to make the transfer as smooth as possible for all organisations involved in operating these assets.

The result of the transfer is that thousands of home and business owners in our area will no longer have to worry about repairs and maintenance of drains and sewers which, until 2011, they were responsible for.

Sewer Adoption Connection

Information on the changes to the sewer connection and adoption process.

Supplementary Transfer

Click here for more information.

Private Pumping Stations

Find information on Private Pumping Stations here.

Frequently Asked Questions

Read some of the frequently asked questions on private sewer transfers.

My Responsibilities

Further information on where Welsh Water's responsibility now starts.