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Sewage Flooding

Volume 300: debated on Wednesday 12 November 1997

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To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions with whom the responsibility lies for the repairing of private properties damaged by sewage flooding; and if he will take steps to ensure that there is no undue delay in long-term repair works where flooding is taking place on a regular basis. [15169]

Responsibility for repairs to properties following an incident of sewage flooding rests with the property owners but they may be able to recover the cost from sewerage undertakers who can be shown to be at fault. In other cases, the cost of repairs can sometimes be recovered under normal building insurance.In the periodic review of price limits in 1994, the Director General of Water Services allowed for sewerage undertakers to invest £590 million (at 1993–94 prices) over the following ten-year period to address sewer flooding problems. The Director General's 1996–97 report on levels of service recorded a reduction of 9 per cent. in the number of properties flooded by sewers in that year.