9.15 Registration and refreshments
9.45 Introduction and overview of the issues surrounding the sewerage infrastructure
10.00 Sewers and drains
- Definitions – History and why records (management information) are important
- Definitions - Water Industry Act 1991 (as amended)
- Legal responsibilities - Secretary of State, Water and Sewerage Companies (WASCs), Ofwat etc
- How sewers become the responsibility of the WASCs
11.15 Refreshments break
11.30 Further ownership and responsibility issues
- Public and private sewers – the current position
- Attempts to improve the situation for new sewers and laterals
- Water Act 2003
- The current position of DEFRA & private sewers (and laterals) – including proposals for change
- Condition of public sewers
- Highway drains
12.45 Lunch
13.30 Maintenance issues for existing drains and sewers – dealing with problems
- Powers of local authorities to investigate and intervene under the Building Act 1984 etc
- Powers to require repair and unblocking of drains and sewers
- Existing drains powers of sewerage undertaker- s113 WIA'91,
- Notice of repairs etc (s61 Building Act 1984)
- Public sewers, actions for injury and prohibitions on material not to be passed into such sewers
- Enforcement of Statutory Notices
14.15 Recent cases of importance and their implications
- East Riding of Yorkshire DC v Yorkshire Water Plc
- Bradford MDC v Yorkshire Water Plc
- Marcic v Thames Water Plc
- LB Hounslow v Thames Water Utilities Ltd
- Dobson and others v Thames Water Utilities Ltd (Water Services Regulation Authority (Ofwat)
- R (on the application of Thames Water Utilities Ltd) v Bromley Magistrates’ Court
15.00 Introduction to case study scenarios
15.15 Refreshment break
15.30 Small group exercises
16.30 Workshop evaluation and close