Water main regulations

[horhay]

I am currently doing a job in a shop for a customer. It was previously a hairdressers. The shop has 2 flats above it and a lane which runs beside it to other premises. I stripped all plumbing out the main shop so only a new toilet remains through the back. The 22mm main comes in this toilet feeds the shop and then goes upstairs. Behind the toilet is a store room which was the old toilet. I re piped the back of the shop. Put a new stopcock in for the shop and a new one for the 2 flats above. In the old toilet i stripped everything out, When stripping out took away a pipe that went through the outside wall which i presumed was for an outside tap. Outside the back of the shop has been used to dump all the building waste so i couldn't get near the other side of the wall to check. I got a call today saying that the building on the other side of the lane ( a physiotherapist) has no water and its our fault. Am i wrong in thinking every separate building needs its own mains supply. The pipe in question was 15mm hep. Anyone came across this before?

 

[Softus]

Am i wrong in thinking every separate building needs its own mains supply.

Yes. "needs" is a nebulous word in this context. Many premises and houses are still in the position of sharing the distribution pipe from the 'pavement' service valve. The user of water on the other side of the wall enjoys the right to continue using the pipe by virtue of a legal easement, whether or not that easement is documented anywhere.

Clearly your action was a mistake, and nothing malicious, but the supply needs to be reinstated. You could ask the water supplier to add a service valve and then run a new pipe from that valve, but that would be quite expensive.

 

[Agile]

Most shops are on a water meter!

Are you sure your shop is not paying for the water sent to the other side of the lane?

It does sound as if you were a little cavalier to rip out pipes when you did not know for sure what they were for!

Rather then any non existant easement, I think that most shared pipes were installed by water supply authorities using their powers to lay pipes over private owners land. But as Softus says you cannot just cut them off if they are legitimately supplying other premises as long as this is know to the supply company and the water is being paid for.

Tony

 

[ChrisR]

Cavalier? A reasonable assumption in the circs I would suggest. I've never see a supply to another dwelling come up to a stopcock, then go back underground across a road!