New water main requires digging up neighbours garden

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Hi all. I had Bristol water over today to assess my lead replacement. Our water supply is shared with the neighbours (possibly 2 other houses) and is connected in front of their front garden (victorian terrace). Bristol water said we would only qualify for the free connection if we brought the MDPE pipe to within a meter of the old lead connection. Not possible without digging a trench through our garden and also the neighbours. Or we have to pay to have a new connection put in outside ours. We are only getting 6 L/min and want to upgrade out back boiler to a combi hence the new water supply. Has anyone had this issue and solved it?
 
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I thought 6 lpm was lower than the legal requirement.
you could "mole it" which eliminates most of the digging or, if the pressure is good, put an accumulator in the loft.
 
I thought 6 lpm was lower than the legal requirement.
you could "mole it" which eliminates most of the digging or, if the pressure is good, put an accumulator in the loft.

I had someone come round to test it's legality and he said that 1 bar pressure was the legal requirement. I don't think they cared too much about flow rate as the issues are within our property (we own the old lead pipes). Regarding moling; you still need a big hole to start the moling which would still either be in the pavement outside neighbours house or in their small front garden at which point I might as well dig the trench myself. Only a few extra meters. The problem is I very much doubt the neighbours want me digging up their garden. They're in their 90's!
 
Not ideal either way, low pressure & poor access. I use someone on the water board to mole my jobs (£300 cash on a Saturday, and they dig out & reinstate afterwards!)
 
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Thats terrible, they have changed the min supply requirements from L/Min to only pressure. They need a kicking for that. I'd complain to their management about that about that and suggest that 6L/Min is ridiculous regardless of min pressure.

Scottish water say the same about min pressure @ 1 bar but also specify that should deliver approx 10L/min as a minimum.
 
I wonder why you need to be near the old supply? Is there not a main running past the front of your house?
 
1 bar (at the road) feeding a 2-storey house will hardly give you enough pressure for an 'upstairs' shower.
Similarly, a pipe of virtually zero diameter will still give 1 bar output if there is no flow.
Don't today's water board 'gurus' understand basic physics.
 
1 bar (at the road) feeding a 2-storey house will hardly give you enough pressure for an 'upstairs' shower.
Similarly, a pipe of virtually zero diameter will still give 1 bar output if there is no flow.
Don't today's water board 'gurus' understand basic physics.

They understand basic physics to the extent whereby they don't have to pay to put consumer's problems right. It's called scamming.
 
Have you discussed with your neighbour? Don't they also have a problem?
Neighbours are in their 90's so likely wont have a problem with the flow rate. I'll ask next time I see them.
 
I wonder why you need to be near the old supply? Is there not a main running past the front of your house?
I would guess the main is in the road, not the pavement. That's just the bristol water rules I guess. I'm going to try kick up a fuss. Waiting on a lead concentration test which might make them responsible for replacement.
 
Regarding moling; you still need a big hole to start the moling which would still either be in the pavement outside neighbours house or in their small front garden at which point I might as well dig the trench myself.

It needn't be that big a hole. Our gas supply pipes were all renewed a couple of years ago - new along the road, new up the drives to the meter. The had to use a mole from two places in my drive, 25/30 feet apart. The holes were around 18 x 24" each. They admitted they don't always manage to hit their target at first attempt.
 

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