external lead to plastic service pipe leak

[mark740]

hi all,


to cut a long story short i have a leak on the plastic joint between the water meter and my lead service pipe.

I want to get an idea of who is responsible for fixing this, i had to dig it up as the affinity guys who turned up just opened the meter cover and said "nah mate not leaking there".
I had my doubts as the area was damp, so i dug it up myself and found the following.

//media.diynot.com/112000_111637_61212_96331867_thumb.jpg

it is leaking from the big black plastic thing that looks pushed over the lead pipe, i thought that when they fit these they should be back filling the area with sand or pea shingle , is this the case ? as this was just the old clay.

so my questions are the following.

1 - as they actually fit this joint is it them who is supposed to fix it ?

2 - does this look like the correct joint.

3 general opinion and advice.

any help would be greatly appreciated.

kind regards

Mark

 

[Blagard]

First of all for reference see:
http://www.ofwat.gov.uk/consumerissues/rightsresponsibilities/supplypipes/

Basically the pipe on your property is yours to repair, the pipe beyond the boundary is the water authority and if that is where the meter is technically you are naughty for digging it up!

The connections to lead use large plastic compression fittings with a liner insert pushed into the lead pipe for support. The fitting shown looks the right thing. Those connections are made by the water authority so I would point the finger at them! Even a meter installed on your property would belong to the water authority and they are responsible for it including the connections they use.