Shared water main

[Whatcouldfillthewatfordgap]

We share a water main with the house next door. It's a semi. They have installed a water pump which means when they turn on their water we have nothing. That's them £50

In order to sort our water out we now have to get plumbers and the water board involved..about 3k to spilt the main. How is this fair?

Life isn't fair.

Are they reasonable neighbours generally? Could you speak with them to find a resolution? They probably didn’t expect to cause such a problem.

Was your supply metered before they installed the pump?

I don’t know what the legal position would be but if they won’t talk with you I would try to find out…

Well i know they don't want to spend any money...yes the supply was metered prior to them putting a pump in.

How did that work if you don’t mind me asking? If there was one metered supply who paid?

Was there a specific problem they were aiming to fix by installing the pump? Do you have the same problem?

If there wasn’t a problem as such then a low cost amicable resolution might simply be to remove the pump again?

What does "That's them £50" mean?

You are not allowed to pump from the watermain to draw more than 12 litres per minute.

Do you think theirs does? If so, inform your water company, who might perhaps take enforcement action.

Do you have a cold water tank in the loft? Have your neighbours recently disposed of theirs? The water tank is intended to smooth out periods when demand exceeds supply (except for drinking water).

If you run a new waterpipe (25mm or, better, 32mm) I expect your water flow will improve dramatically.

"EXTRACT FROM WATER REGULATIONS GUIDE UK (including Water Bylaws 2000 Scotland)

Page 3.16 Regulation G6.2
Showers and other appliances which are supplied with water from a pump located either upstream or downstream of a mixing valve and capable of delivering more than 0.2 litres a second (12 litres a minute), may not be supplied with water direct from a supply pipe unless written approval has been obtained from the water supplier.

Page 3.16 Regulation R6.2
An installer will need to obtain the Water Supplier’s written permission before any pumped shower drawing more than 0.2 litres a second may be supplied directly or indirectly from a supply pipe."

Is it an older property?
It used to be quite common for houses to share a water main. I've known up to 10 houses in a victorian terrace to share. Obviously when they were built then it was sufficient just to have a tap in the kitchen as the only tap in the house. However with all the water modern home life demands then old shared supply is just not enough.
There are benefits to separate suppliers. Being able to turn your water off without it affecting your neighbours. Better water pressure. If your supply pipe is made of lead then you may be eligible for assistance with getting it replaced.

Good point about the lead. Some water companies have a lead replacement scheme or subsidy, especially in soft water areas, or may at least connect your new pipe free.

Ask the water co to test your drinking water for lead.

Do that now as there may be a delay

You must do it before starting work.

Thanks for the replies. I meant it cost them 50 quid to install the pump. It will cost us thousands to split the water main. Whilst we share the water main it splits of for each house....and yes they are old pre 1900

There has always been an issue with the water pressure..though we had the board out and they said it was fine.

@PigletJohn

Good point about the lead. Some water companies have a lead replacement scheme or subsidy, especially in soft water areas, or may at least connect your new pipe free.

Ask the water co to test your drinking water for lead.

Do that now as there may be a delay

You must do it before starting work.

I will ask them to test for lead

We have this. It wasn’t mentioned on the survey and I’d never heard of it before. We only found out when we turned the water off before going away for the weekend. Angry phone call from the landlord of next door complaining we’d left her tenants without water on purpose!

Hope you get this sorted out as I don’t like the situation, and would like it a lot less if I was the one without the stopcock on my property.