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Offering a Sewer for Adoption

If you wish to offer any newly-constructed or existing sewers and pumping stations for adoption by us as public sewers, our team of engineers will assist in guiding you through the process, and will ensure that the assets meet the required standards.

Alternatively sewers can be offered for adoption to a new appointee and variation who can also provide wholesale water and/or sewerage services for a specified area. For more information please see our New Appointment and Variations (NAV).

Codes for adoption

From the 01 April 2020, Ofwat is introducing a new standard practice across the water industry in England which covers the adoption of newly constructed sewers. The new process is outlined in the Water UK’s new Sewer Sector Guidance (SSG) which will be replacing the ‘Sewers for Adoption’ guidance.

Below is a guide on what you need to do when offering new sewers and pumping stations for adoption, including links to relevant application forms. 

A requirement of Ofwat’s Code for adoption agreements is that all requests for changes to the documentation approved by Ofwat be submitted to an independent panel, comprised of an equal number of water companies and customers. The role of the panel is to make recommendations to Ofwat where it consider that changes to the approved documentation are appropriate. For further information please see the Sewerage Adoption Panel website.

  • As you begin to plan your development, our team of engineers will work with you to agree your site drainage strategy, points of connection to the wastewater network, and discharge rates.

    All pre-development enquiries should be made using the wastewater pre- development enquiry form.

    Before you complete the form, you may find it helpful to read the information on our wastewater pre-development page, and also review water and wastewater asset maps for your site. A number of companies offer mapping services, including United Utilities. If you would like to purchase a sewer or water plan from us please see our Property Searches service.

  • If you would like a pre design assessment for your site proposals, prior to submitting you full application for a sewerage adoption application under Section 104 please complete the S104 Pre-design application enquiry form here (PDF 106 KB opens in a new window)

    The form enables you to enquire about various topics such as SuDS design, pumped discharge queries, unusual or complex connections, storage components, the implications of multiple phases on site as well as land owner issues.

    If you query relates to Pump Stations please see our ‘pumping station local practice’ for our design requirements in the first instance, these can be found in our current pumping station addendum (PDF 7,259 KB opens in a new window).

  • The Design and Construction Guidance (DCG) is part of the Sewer Sector Guidance document that has now replaced Sewer for Adoption (SFA), see appendix C The DCG sets out the new standards for the design and construction of adoptable foul and surface water systems. 

    If you would like to make an application for the adoption of a new sewerage system, you will need to complete an S104 application. For help with your application, please see our S104 process guide (PDF 114 KB opens in a new window) and our technical guidance sheet (PDF 98 KB opens in a new window).

    If, as part of your design, you’re offering a pumping station for adoption, you will need to refer to our ‘pumping station local practice’ for our design requirements, these can be found in our current pumping station addendum (PDF 7,259 KB opens in a new window). The pumping station will be covered under the same S104 agreement as the gravity sewers.

    When we receive a completed application and the required minimum information, our engineers will technically assess your submission, and respond to you within 20 working days.

    If you have any further queries about sewer adoptions, please contact the team at SewerAdoption@uuplc.co.uk.

  • When you have your technical acceptance from us for your sewerage system design, you will need to enter into a section 104 agreement so we can formally adopt the sewers.

    You can enter into a section 104 agreement by either asking us to produce one and providing all the required documents, or letting us know you intend to prepare your own legal agreement. Please see the Model Sewer Adoption Agreement.

    We appreciate that construction work may need to begin before the S104 agreement has been signed by all parties. So not to delay the start of your construction work, you can complete an early start request once you have received technical acceptance and made payment of the S104 fees.

  • Before you start any construction work on the new sewerage system you should complete a pre-start inspection request, this will be provided with your technical acceptance. Once we have received this and all fees are paid, one of our inspectors will arrange a pre-start site meeting for the new development. 

    During construction we’ll carry out inspections to check compliance with the S104 agreement. If improper work, materials or variations are found, we will notify the site contact of any defects

    Once the site is more than 50 per cent occupied and all of the sewerage system construction work is complete, including any pumping stations, our inspector will confirm that the inspection of the system including CCTV has been carried out and all remedial works have been completed. Once this has been done the site can progress on to maintenance.

  • Once the sewers have been constructed and any outstanding remedial works are completed, you should complete a S104 maintenance request form (PDF 142 KB opens in a new window) and provide the ‘As Built’ drawings, health and safety file, and any other outstanding requirements and send them to SewerAdoptions@uuplc.co.uk.

    We will arrange for our inspectors to carry out a maintenance inspection to confirm that the works are suitable to go on 12 months maintenance and we will issue the provisional certificate.

  • We will inform you three months before your maintenance period is due to end, you should then check the sewerage system and make sure that there are no maintenance issues. 

    When the maintenance period has expired you should complete a final inspection request form (PDF 142 KB opens in a new window) and send it to SewerAdoptions@uuplc.co.uk and we’ll arrange for one of our inspectors to carry out the final inspection of the adoptable system, they will advise if any remedial works are required. 

    Once all remedial works have been completed to our satisfaction, our engineer will issue the final certificate of completion and the legal vesting of the sewers will take place shortly after.

     

  • This stage is designed to confirm any variations requested to the design of the sewerage system once technical acceptance has been granted. You will need to contact us about any variations to the system. This is so we can assess if they are minor and can be recorded on the ‘As Built’ drawings, or if they are major, which will need to be dealt with by a formal re-submission. Please contact the team at SewerAdoptions@uuplc.co.uk.

     

  • Easements

    Pumping station addendum

    As well as our local practice documents and pump station addendum, please find below an example of our pump station technical appraisal form. You don’t need to complete this PDF version, it is for information purposes only to aide you in your design. Our Developer Engineers will send you an editable version in response to your submitted s104 application with any queries they would like your comments on in relation to your pumping station design.

    Pumping Station Technical Appraisal Example Form

    For an example of our general s104 Technical Appraisal form please see the Technical Library tab on this web page.

  • Ofwat has set 01 April 2020 as the date on which the Sewerage Sector Guidance (SSG) and related documents will come into force.  The SSG has been prepared to meet the requirements of Ofwat’s Code for Adoption Agreements. 

    For more information on the transition to the new Codes for adoption can be found on the Water UK website. You can also see our simple guide (PDF 228 KB opens in a new window)

  • Under Section 102 of the Water Industry Act 1991, the owner of an existing private sewer can apply to transfer ownership of their sewer to us.

    Our guide to offering existing private sewer for adoption provides all of the information that you need to offer existing sewers for adoption. To apply for an existing sewer adoption, please complete the application form (PDF 174 KB opens in a new window).

    If you have any further queries about sewer adoptions please contact the team at SewerAdoptions@uuplc.co.uk.

     

  • The Design and Construction Guidance (DCG) is part of the Sewer Sector Guidance document. The DCG sets out the new standards for the design and construction of adoptable foul and surface water systems.  

    There are some exceptions to the DCG where it does not cover certain manhole types, please see below our standard details

    As outfall details in excess of 350mm diameter are not included within the DCG the following details below may be used depending on the site specific assessment.

    STND_19_011 – Headwall Type 1

    STND_19_012 – Headwall Type 2 and 3

    Our site sewer construction guide has been produced as an on-site guide for contractors and operatives constructing sewers, with advice notes provided to avoid some of the common on-site errors.

    For an overview of the elements your s104 submission which will be Technically Assessed, please see a PDF version of our Technical Appraisal form below. You don’t need to complete this PDF version, it is for information purposes only to aide you in your design. Our Developer Engineers will send you an editable version in response to your submitted s104 application with any queries they would like your comments on.

    S104 Technical Appraisal Example Form

    If your site has Pump Station please see the Local Practices tab of this web page for an example of the Pump Station Technical Appraisal form.

  • For technical content relating to the adoption of SuDS please see our Sustainable Drainage webpage.