Mandatory adoption arrangements for new foul sewers and lateral drains and Mandatory Build Standards for new gravity foul sewers and lateral drains

The Water Industry (Schemes for Adoption of Private Sewers) Regulations 2011 came into force on 1 July 2011. Under this law existing private sewers and lateral drains became the responsibility of water and sewerage undertakers in Wales and England on 1 October 2011. We now want to implement a mandatory adoption process for all new sewers and lateral drains supported by mandatory build standards.

We will work closely with the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to ensure that our build standards are consistent. This will avoid confusion for developers and the water industry across Wales and England.

We welcome views on:

• Moving from current to new adoption arrangements;
• Mandatory build standards for newly-built sewers and lateral drains;
• Draft Regulations to ensure that the adoption process is completed; and
• Impact Assessment for the Mandatory Build Standards.