Flooded household budgets

When something goes wrong, there is always someone to call on to fix it.

With small issues, like a cracked tile, householders pay for it under the house maintenance budget.

If it is a larger cost, we either look for someone to blame or our insurance company sorts it.

Does the same happen if our house floods due to a pump problem? You may be surprised.

Many houses throughout the UK rely on a pumped drainage system. Where sewage cannot reach a sewer by gravity it is pumped to the nearest manhole which will then take it to its final destination for it to be treated. Where this pump system is the responsibility of a water authority and it causes some flooding you may be entitled to some compensation, we urge you to find that out. Where this is not owned by the water company you may not be. Flooding occurring due to drainage issues outside of the pump station or sewage treatment systems are not covered here.

Is my system owned by a water company?

If there is a visible label on your system showing the water company logo with an emergency call number and a code name for the system then it is very likely owned by the water company. If not, the likely answer is no. See sample below.