At JW Clark Ltd, we have 20 years’ company experience in sewer connections, and are approved contractors for sewer connection installations for Anglian Water, Severn Trent Water and Thames Water.
- Over 20 years company experience doing Sewer Connections and Sewer Diversions
- We are Anglian Water approved contractors. Also Severn Trent & Thames Water
- We act as agents doing 106 Applications to Water Authorities, taking care of everything on your behalf
- We also act as agents in submitting Section 50 Applications to Highways
- We take care of all Traffic management including traffic lights, road closures and diversions etc
- All types of connection methods including both Direct and Indirect, Junction Insertions, Saddle Connections and Construction of new adoptable manholes in the Highway
- New connections to replace and divert foul from existing Treatment Plants & Septic Tanks, including decommissioning old systems
- Accredited Health & Safety Contractor, multiple company & operative accreditations including NRSWA & CHAS
- We take care of your whole project from start to finish, acting as Agents to the various authorities, liaising with neighbouring properties where necessary, from excavation to reinstatement and final Water Authority sign-off.
- We have well in excess of one hundred 5-star reviews on Google collected over many years
- All of our work is carried out by our own employees, wearing our uniform and driving our own sign-written vehicles. We do not use any subcontractors on any of our work.
We carry out sewer connections for both private and commercial customers. Our customers can be private households, one-off housebuilders or developers building many houses. The most common reason for a sewer connection is for a ‘new build’, these can be for one house but will often be for a few houses, with no upward limit.
The second most common reason for a sewer connection is to replace an old Septic Tank or Treatment Plant. In a lot of instances, older properties in particular can be on an old Septic Tank or Treatment Plant, but whereby a public sewer has since been installed in the vicinity, and a new connection to the sewer is preferable. In the case that a Septic Tank or Treatment Plant exists and is not up to current regulations, it is now a legal requirement – since January 2020 – to connect to the public sewer rather than to install a new Septic Tank or Treatment – in the event that a public sewer exists within a ‘reasonable distance’. Our work will often include not only the work in the Highway to make the connection to the public sewer, but can also include the work in private property, to divert the foul waste system towards the public sewer, and to decommission the Septic Tank or Treatment Plant. An example here.
A lot of our enquiries for rerouting existing properties to the public sewer, come about when a property is being sold. Quite often the sale of a property will be held up as and when a surveyor – whether they be instructed on behalf of the purchaser or the lender – picks up on the fact that the foul system includes discharge into a Septic Tank or Treatment, is not up to current regulations.
By far the majority of public sewers are in the Highway, and at JW Clark Ltd we specialise in connections onto the public sewer in the Highway – these are usually classed as Direct Connections. However, in the event that the nearest public sewer is in private property, we can also assist with connection in private property – usually classed as Indirect Connections.
Sewers in the Highway are – more often than not – in the road, though they can occasionally be in the footpath or in a grass verge, for example. These sewers can be anything from a metre deep, but are often a lot deeper. See our factsheet here for more information. A sewer connection in the Highway will need a Section 50 Licence, and we normally act as agents on behalf of our customer, in applying for a Section 50 Licence. To be able to apply for a Section 50 Licence, we need specialist insurances, and our operatives and supervisors need to hold the correct NRSWA accreditations, which of course we have.
To be able to connect to the Public Sewer, a ‘Section 106 Approval’ will also be required, this is issued by the relevant Water Authority. In some cases our customer will already have this when they approach us for a new connection, but more often than not we will act as agents in applying for the Section 106 as well. Incidentally, we must have a Section 106 Approval from the Water Authority before applying to Highways for the Section 50 Licence. Highways have a duty of care to ensure we have official permission to connect to the sewer, by whatever Water Authority it is owned by.
There are different ways to connect to the public sewer, the most common is by way of ‘Junction Insertion’, with connections onto some larger pipes being by way of ‘Saddle Connection’. The connection can also be made into an existing manhole, for multiple properties, or construction of a new manhole, again, more likely when it comes to connection to the public sewer for multiple properties. In the event that our customer already has a Section 106 Approval, which details method of connection, we will always advise if we think there is a better, often cheaper, method of connection. And we can speak to the relevant Water Authority in this instance. We have a good track record when it comes to appealing the type of connection method. And it helps that we have good relationships with all the local Water Authorities. This also helps in particular in ensuring that the application process moves along as swiftly as possible.
With the works complete, a final sign-off certificate will be issued by the relevant Water Authority. These will usually be needed when trying to sell a property, whether it be a new-build or an older property. And we will always assist in getting this sign-off as quickly as possible after the works are complete.
If you have any questions then please don’t hesitate to ask. If you have an enquiry then please fill out our online enquiry form here.
You can read our FAQs here relating to sewer connections here.
If you need a sewer connection doing, it’s really important you contact us as soon as possible, sometimes the leadtimes for the applications can be as much as 6 months or more. Read our fact sheet here ‘How long does a sewer connection take?’
Here are some of the questions we are asked about sewer connections.
If you have a query that is not answered here, please get in touch.
For sewer connections we cover most areas where either Anglian Water, Severn Trent or Thames water are the Water Authority for drainage.
With so many variables involved here it is difficult to give an average cost, but anything from a few thousand pounds to tens of thousands. Click here for a quote.
A sewer connection in the Highway can take as little as a few days, up to a week or more or sometimes many weeks in the event that the public sewer is a long way from the site.
Beware though – the paperwork in advance will take much, much longer. You will need to do a Section 106 application first (more info here), which we will normally take care of for you. In the event that the public sewer is in the Highway (90% of the time) we will need to apply to the local Highways Dept at the County Council for a Section 50, ordinarily you cannot do this yourself, we have to do it for you. This process cannot normally be started until you/we have the Section 106 from the water authority – Highways need to know that the Water Authority are in agreement that the connection be made.
The Section 50 application will normally take anything from a few weeks to a couple of months. Once we are in receipt of the Section 50 licence, we have to give notice to Highways that we want to use it. For a very small job in the Highway, the notice period is 1 week. For a week’s work in the Highway, the notice we have to give is often 3 weeks, and 3 months or more for a major project.
An increasing amount of jobs in the Highway require a road closure, and the minimum legal notice period for one of these is 3 months. And just because we give notice to Highways that we wish to use our licence, we won’t necessarily get permission to do so. There has to be no other roadworks going on within a certain radius of the site, and in some instances other contractors could have booked ‘road space’ in the surrounding area for the next few months or more, meaning you’ll be asked to join the back of the queue. In some areas you cannot work during school term time, you’ll have to wait for the next school holiday – as long as other contractors do not already have ‘road space’ booked for then. So all in all:
Time required to get a Section 106 to connect to a public sewer 3-6 weeks.
Then… Time required to get a Section 50 to ‘dig up the road’ 3-10 weeks.
Then… Notice period to be able to use a Section 50 Licence 1-12 weeks.
Then… Time taken to do the work (normally) 3 – 10 days.
Total of anything between 8 and 30 weeks. In the event that you need a sewer connection doing please contact us as soon as possible. You’ll be surprised how many people build a house and then ask us to start the sewer connection process, whereas this process needs starting ideally when the build starts.
Public (adopted) sewers in the Highway can be as shallow as 1m deep, but tend to average 1.5m – 3m deep, but with some a lot deeper. It is not uncommon or some very old public sewers to be 6m deep, or more. The deepest we have seen recently is 7m deep, this was at Richmond in London, adjacent to the River Thames.
The depths of a lot of public sewers are documented by the various water authorities, as are the exact location of them. However, a lot of public sewers are still not mapped. For Anglian Water and Severn Trent sewers visit http://www.digdat.co.uk/ and for Thames Water visit https://www.thameswater-propertysearches.co.uk/.
It depends. In the case of one house or a couple of houses then connection by ‘junction insertion’ or ‘saddle connection’ would be a more common method of connection, unless of course a manhole exists in close proximity.
In the case of a larger development of more than 3 houses, a connection into a manhole is normally required, or construction of a new manhole on top of the existing pipe if one does not exist close by. The method of connection will always be dictated by the relevant Water Authority, and will always be detailed on the ‘Section 106 Approval Letter’. When instructing JW Clark to undertake a sewer connection, our service will normally include facilitating the Section 106 application (what is a Section 106), unless you have already done it or wish to do it yourself. For a quote for a sewer connection click here.
“Oblique junction insertion fitted onto a public sewer, the pipes either side of the sewer are old and new water mains”.
A junction insertion is simply a ‘Y junction’. We cut out a small section of the existing sewer and fit a junction insertion. It sounds simple, but of course there’s a lot more to it than that! The ‘flow’ will normally have to be stopped ‘upstream’ in the next manhole for the work to be carried out safely. A junction insertion will normally be the preferred method of connection onto a public sewer that is up to 300mm in diameter.
A saddle connection is the preferred method of connecting onto public sewer greater than 300mm in diameter, and is more likely to be used on a surface water connection than a foul connection – as foul sewer pipes above 300mm are not so common, whereas surface water sewers are often 300mm in diameter, or more. This method of connection requires a hole to be professionally core-drilled into the existing sewer pipe, normally towards the top of the pipe on the side, and the ‘saddle’ to be fixed onto the pipe by way of fast-setting cement slurry or resin. Further pipework can be connected onto the saddle once the connection has cured.
A saddle connection is also the preferred method of connection into a Victorian Brick Culvert. In this instance a proportion of the culvert on the outside will normally be carefully excavated around first, and a concrete ‘jacket’ carefully applied to the brickwork. When this has cured, the concrete and the brickwork are drilled together. The concrete jacket is required as the brick culvert is dependent on the brickwork for its strength, and core-drilling without the concrete jacked having first been applied would compromise the integrity of the culvert.
In relation to sewer connections, a Section 106 application is required to connect a property to the public (adopted) sewer for the first time. (Not to be confused with a ‘Planning’ Section 106 Agreement, these are private agreements made between local authorities and developers).
How to apply for a Section 106.
JW Clark can apply for a Section 106 on your behalf, and we normally do so for most customers, however if you want to do it yourself then that’s fine.
You/we will need the following to be able to apply for a Section 106:
- Drainage Plan – This needs to show foul pipes and manholes within the site, the connection to the public sewer, whether it be by junction insertion or saddle connection and it needs to show the existing public sewer in the Highway or otherwise. A drainage plan previously put together for a ‘new build’ property will normally cover the foul system in the site, but will rarely detail the sewer connection, nor the existing public sewer. It will need amending to include these to be suitable for the Section 106 application, and this is best done by the same architect who drew the original drawing. The drainage plan must also detail surface water/rainwater pipes and manholes in the site, and the method by which it is being discharged, i.e. soakaways or rainwater harvesting system etc. Can rainwater also discharge into the public sewer?.
- Site Plan.
This will detail the boundary of the property and must show the property in relation to neighbouring properties or nearby landmarks.
- Consent/Signature of Apparatus owner.
Although we will take care of the Section 106 application for you, you will normally need to sign as the ‘Apparatus Owner’ – Although the connection to the public sewer will always be adopted by the water authority, the pipework in the Highway leading away from the connection (the lateral) will normally remain the property and the responsibility of the property owner (unless the lateral is being adopted click here). Apart from this one signature, we can normally take care of the Section 106 application for you, and we will normally include to do so in our quote. For a quote click here.
- Fee to the water authority .
The fee for a Section 106 can vary between water authorities and is sometimes dependent on the type of connection. Prices start at about £400, and the exact price will always be detailed by us in our quote to you.
- Method Statement & Risk Assessments.
We will always put together a Method Statement and Risk Assessments for any sewer connection that we undertake and these must be supplied to and approved by the relevant water authority before work can commence, and will normally have to be included in the initial Section 106 application. ‘Generic’ Method Statements and Risk Assessments are not permitted, they must be ‘Specific’. Our quote to you will always include for these.
Most water authorities charge upwards of £400 for a Section 106 application, and the fee will have to be paid up front before the application will be processed. JW Clark will normally take care of a Section 106 application in the event that you instruct us to do a sewer connection for you, this includes doing all the paperwork, sending it off to the water authority and keeping track of and chasing progress.
In addition to the cost of a Section 106, there is sometimes a charge from the water authority to the end user, sometimes referred to as a Zonal Charge or an Infrastructure Charge. This is often in the region of £500-£600 and is normally charged as part of the continual billing process between the water authority and the end user, however occasionally they will include this is a bill prior to the connection being made. We will never have any visibility or knowledge of what this amount will be, if any. The end user will need to contact the water authority directly to confirm.
OFWAT’s regulations state that a Water Authority must make a start on a Section 106 application within 15 working days of the water authority receiving it. In the event that any queries are generated as a result of the initial application, once the water authority receives an answer to their queries, they have another 15 working days to respond to and continue with the application. With this in mind, it is important to start the process of applying for a Section 106 well in advance of when the sewer connection needs doing.
Not normally, no. The water Authority will only normally adopt (& inspect) the connection onto their sewer. This could be a junction insertion, a saddle connection, or a new manhole if this is the method of connection. The pipework (also known as the lateral) between the connection, and the property, including that which is in the Highway, will normally remain the property of the customer who appoints us. And in the event that the connection is for a new dwelling and this is sold soon after the work is completed, ownership of the pipework (including in the Highway) will pass to the buyer of the new property, unless an alternative arrangement is made of course. Depending on the water authority in question, it is sometimes possible for a limited amount of pipework to be adopted by the Water Authority on a Section 106 application. However more often than not a Section 104 application is required where you wish for the pipework to be adopted, and as a contractor we cannot apply for a Section 104, this has to be done by the owner of the land which is being developed. When instructed to apply for a Section 106 on your behalf, we will always assume that you do not wish for the pipework to be adopted by the Water Authority, unless you advise us otherwise.
In relation to a sewer connection, a Section 50 application to Highways is needed in when the sewer connection requires us to ‘dig up the road’, i.e. to excavate in any part of the Highway, either the footpath, verge or carriageway/road, sometimes in all three. 90% of public sewers are in the Highway, so most sewer connections will require a Section 50 application. We will normally have to do this for you. For this we must have operatives and management NRSWA accredited and we have to hold £10million public liability insurance. Plus of course we need experience in this kind of work, and we have many years’ experience.
Before we can apply for a Section 50 we have to obtain utilities drawings for any apparatus that may exist in the Highway where we are to dig. This will normally include BT, Electric, Gas, Water & sometimes Virgin Media or similar. There is a cost to obtaining these utilities drawings, and this will always be included in a quote for a sewer connection. In some cases there may be no gas or Virgin Media in the vicinity, but in this instance we have to get written permission from the utilities companies that no apparatus exists, for which there is still a cost. We need these drawings so we know where existing utilities are in the Highways before we start digging, and Highways have a duty to know that we have obtained drawings, so no Section 50 application can be made before we have these drawings.
Once we have the utilities drawings we can make our Section 50 application to Highways. This will include us sending in our proof of accreditation and insurance, a site plan detailing the work we wish to do, our traffic management proposal and the Section 106 that we have obtained from the water authority. The Section 50 will then be considered by Highways for processing, which can take anything from a few weeks, up to 10 weeks in some instances.
The fee to Highways for a Section 50 will normally range from £500 – £800, deepening on the area. However, there are sometimes further costs in the event that, for example, a road closure is required or that parking needs to be restricted. Our quote to you will always include all such fees, and will include for us to carry out the whole process for you, from start to finish. For a quote click here.
An increasing number of councils are starting to request that a ‘bond’ be paid prior to any work being carried out in the Highway. For more information please read our full article on this
Yes. We will always arrange inspection of the actual sewer connection by the water authority as part of our quote to you. As far as any ‘private lateral’ is concerned, this will often need inspecting by Building Control in the event that it is not being adopted by the water authority – which is often the case with 1 new build or a very small development.
Not normally. Water authorities try to discourage anything other than foul going into their foul and combined sewers, except in extenuating circumstances. In the event that there is a dedicated surface water sewer in the Highway there is more likelihood of being able to discharge rainwater/surface water into this, however their preference may still be for rainwater to discharge into soakaways or by other means. This is all dealt with in the Section 106 application.
It all depends on the nature of the job. If the work relates to a ‘new build’ and there is an approved planning permission application, then the VAT rate will normally be zero. For existing properties the rate will normally be standard 20%, however there are some exceptions. Some building projects are 5% for various reasons, these can include barn conversions and work on properties whereby they have been empty and uninhabitable for a long period of time.
