Paying For The Rainwater Flowing Off My Roof?

[Minstrel SE]

Im getting a real Bee in my Bonnet about this portion of the water bill because for a convoluted reason Ive never had to pay it before.

Essentially its £100 per year for rainwater flowing into a highway drain because they need money to pay for "dealing with it". I thought it just flows from the gutters down the pipe into the sewers...flushes them out :D

They dont even have the decency to bury it in the making a profit on water services. It seems to be a licence to print money or a licenced mugging I dont care where the rainwater flows and I dont care about highway drains. I will buy a canoe :) Surely thats their problem or tax motor vehicles more :) I dont care if they go surfing on it. Its an act of nature and surely beyond my responsibility.

If they want to play it like that, it may never rain for months although I accept that is highly unlikely in the UK.

talk some sense into me guys. I know youre all paying it but dont you question this nonsense as we are just paying billions into their drain network to cope with an act beyond my control.

Before you tell me that people dont have to pay with their own off flow, soak up land systems...who actually has that beyond farmers and large landownwers?.......also why are flats paying the same for the same roofspace?

Bugs me but Ive had the nasty letter and will just pay up like a good little boy
Try and calm me down :)

[walpurgis]

It's not a highway drain. It's surface water drainage, including what comes off your roof. Local road drainage gullies also flow into surface water drains, but that has nothing to do with your water charges. Your council tax covers those. Surface water drains tend to run beneath roads, as do foul drains. Rain water that is not absorbed into the water table or run off into streams and rivers has to go somewhere and that is what surface water drains are for and what you are paying for.

[Minstrel SE]

Yes but no but yes but in a vikky pollard style....but whats rainwater got to do with me other than Im an easy target in a property than can be visited by bailiffs....seems to be a poll tax on rainwater

Obviously rainwater runs somewhere but Ive not created it.

My crime seems to be having a roof that it flows off into the drains...a negligible amount of water in the grand scheme but not if you're counting all the easy money eh

Oh well I will pay it when I'm down paying the window tax and the hearth tax :)

[Johnny nocash]

Surface water sewers are actually more expensive to maintain than foul. They often discharge to open brooks/ rivers etc which if not cleared on a regular basis will 'clog' at grates/sluices causing flooding at areas well downstream from where you may live.

[walpurgis]

Try plugging up the drains that handle your roof water and see how you get on. :D

[Macca]

They've got overheads sure but water and power should be run at operating cost plus investment. Not for profit. It's the profit portion I object to paying for. You don't even get a choice of 'water provider'. So as well as the running costs I have to pay into someone's pension fund every time I turn the tap on. That makes sense.

[walpurgis]

That is the bugbear of having essential services in private hands mate. It's all about profit. Bloody disgrace!

[Johnny nocash]

"Obviously rainwater runs somewhere but Ive not created it.

My crime seems to be having a roof that it flows off into the drains...a negligable amount of water in the grand scheme ...."

Sorry to be an ass Minstrel. Even though you didn't create rainwater, by having a roof or any concrete area, you are not allowing the water to drain into the land your house occupies. Therefore any guttering etc that collects water that would normally have permeated into the ground but now discharges to a public rainwater sewer. This has to be dealt with. You may feel it's an insignificant amount but times that by every house that is doing the same thing then that's a lot of water.

[Audio Al]

This bull shit pisses me off no end

Back in the day you paid a bill and that was it !

The bill you paid covered The job / staff pay / company profit / vat , Job done

Now they think they can ask for more money to upgrade their infrastructure , The profit now goes to shareholders so we have to pay extra to renew their systems , :steam:

[rubber duck]

Time to renationalise water companies

[walpurgis]

Time to renationalise water companies

And all other essential services and to recategorise what constitutes an essential service. For instance, there should be a basic state provided life insurance service for a start and cover for homes and vehicles. Proper legal advice and representation too. The state should handle house/home sales for us as well. I'm not suggesting any of this should be free, but a basic non-profit facility at a cost the ordinary person can afford just makes sense to me.

[Macca]

Time to renationalise water companies

Only one problem with that. Severn Trent water shares currently trading at £2.274 and there are 236.23 million shares. I suppose UK gov might still hold some of them but if not that's £537 million to buy it back. And that is only 1 of 12 UK water companies.

[rubber duck]

The obvious strategy would be not to renew the concessions when these come up for renewal. In the meantime, Ofwat could take water companies to task for failing to meet performance targets, e.g. leaks, etc. This could include stiff penalties and even revoking the concession, depending on the terms of the concession. This will also do wonders for company profits and hence share prices. Unfortunately Ofwat has been toothless and unwilling to act in the interest of the general public, but this can be addressed.

[Macca]

But if you give teeth to the regulator the share price crashes and rich, influential people with their pensions and hedge funds will start breaking your balls about it.

Also I don't think the water is organised like the trains in that they buy a franchise and have to renew it every so often. I think once it was sold it was a done deal. Might be wrong about that, though.

[struth]

change the rules;)

[Minstrel SE]

They have landed on the utilities square on monopoly and its a licence to demand money for the infrastructure.

Theres going to be concrete surfaces as we dont live in fields now. I dont care if all the rainwater forms a giant lake down the road....I really dont :) water will find its own way to rivers and the sea :) As far as Im concerned its just passing on a charge and a huge profit making opportunity.

It is all about shareholders, rich owner/ investors and hedge funds. Thats half my bill on rainwater drainage. Its almost pointless being careful with a water meter and they just demand other charges so blatantly that they must be laughing about it.

Whats every household and hovel at £100+ a year. Thats a lot of money to deal with rainwater

[Arkless Electronics]

Just renationalise everything and don't pay em a penny. Take it from them. They've been making huge profits by screwing everyone else for decades and got it all at cut down wealthy-mates-rates in the first place from Thatcher the bastard.

[karma67]

im lucky as my flat is covered by what is termed a soak away,the water company didnt tell me though,i had to do my own detective work.

[Minstrel SE]

im lucky as my flat is covered by what is termed a soak away,the water company didnt tell me though,i had to do my own detective work.

Ive got grass one side and would have thought most of the water would soak into that I feel like sticking water butts under the down pipes.

I still dont understand...the water flows down the roof into guttering which must then flow down pipes into drains round the property...I dont get it...how is it flowing down our access road into surface water drainage. The rainwater goes down the drains with the sewage does it not? I dont mind paying for a water supply and sewage out.

The nearest road is more a private access road. Most of the rainwater is falling on the concrete car park outside so my roof space is contributing a minor area.

Dont get it,dont like it but it seems I have to pay it...not a happy bunny

[struth]

different system up here. no meters, just a charge per annum. a bit like council tax

[walpurgis]

The rainwater goes down the drains with the sewage does it not?

No. Surface water and foul sewage are generally kept separate. In some places there is a combined system where drains are common to both foul and surface water, but that is not the norm.

[rubber duck]

Also I don't think the water is organised like the trains in that they buy a franchise and have to renew it every so often. I think once it was sold it was a done deal. Might be wrong about that, though.

Afraid you're right about being wrong here. Thames Water recently twisted Ofwat's arm claiming they needed certainty before investing further as their concession was up for renewal. Ofwat duly complied. If anyone is interested in this issue, have a read here (http://gala.gre.ac.uk/17277/10/17277%20HALL_Bringing_Water_into_Public_Ownership_ %28Rev%27d%29_2017.pdf)

[Ninanina]

I had a water meter fitted years ago and it's saved me a fortune on both incoming/outgoing water bills

Apparently if you have more bedrooms than people living in the house it is far cheaper to have a water meter fitted. I have one bedroom and one person, me!, and it still saved me loads of money :)

[walpurgis]

I had a water meter fitted years ago

Sounds rather painful! :lol:

[hifinutt]

im lucky as my flat is covered by what is termed a soak away,the water company didnt tell me though,i had to do my own detective work.

one neighbour of a house i did persued for many years a reduction in his water rates as all the rainwater goes into a soakway from all the houses . when i had some draingage work done last year he came and took pics of it running into a soakway

my dear old dad made it his lifes work and obsession to persue everyone about why he was charged by the water company for sewage when everything went into a septic tank . in fact we could not pull the chain every time and he ran bath water etc out via pipes into back garden !! he had letters from many famous politician like enoch powell . wish i had kept them !!