News

Water Pressure

What is the water pressure in my street, will the boiler or shower I am having fitted work?

Please contact us for advice on water pressure on 01202 590059 and we can advise you of the pressure in our water mains feeding your property. The pressures are different in each area and can vary dependant on the time of day.

The reasons for this depends upon on a variety of factors, some of these are set out below:

The difference in height between your property and the reservoir that feeds you
The distance your property is from the reservoir
The length and sizes of the pipes in the supply network
If the water is pumped or not and if so when and at what pressures.
If the area you live in has any pressure control in place
The demand for water in the area supplied.

You may not get the same pressure we have in our mains in the road because of a variety of factors relating to your own plumbing these are:

The ground level of our water main as compared with your property.
The number of floors your property has and which floor the appliance is being plumbed in on.
The length of your underground supply pipe its diameter and condition (this is your section of pipe from our boundary stoptap/meter box to your property)
Whether you are on a shared supply pipe with an adjoining property. Flats are often fed by one supply, which is shared.
Whereabouts in the property the appliance is to be connected on which floor.
Size of the pipework within the property
Simultaneous use within use within the property.

For your information we have set out the standards that we must comply with

The requirement

The requirement is laid out in the Water Industry Act 1991 Part III Chapter II “Means of Supply ” Section 65. We are required to supply water constantly and at a pressure, which will reach the upper floors of buildings although this does not apply to buildings that use pumped systems, such as blocks of flats. But this does not require a water undertaker to provide a supply of water to a height greater than that to which it would flow by gravitation through its water mains from the service reservoir from which that supply is taken.

For further information see water pressure information note 12 on the Ofwat web site we can supply a copy if required.
(http://www.ofwat.gov.uk/aptrix/ofwat/publish.nsf/Content/waterpressure- Information note 12 Water Pressure rev 21.04.05)

The minimum standard for pressure

There is a minimum standard for pressure called the level of service indicator (known as DG2). This requires that we supply a pressure of not less than 10 metres head (which is 1 bar) at the external stop tap while there is a flow of nine litres per minute within the property. In most areas the pressure is significantly higher than this. Ofwat require us to report the number of properties that receive pressure lower than this standard annually. This level of service does not override the duty to supply water constantly at a pressure to reach the upper floors of properties

Compensation for poor pressure

If the pressure falls below seven metres' head of water in our communication pipe that feeds your property twice in any period of 28 days each lasting an hour or more, we will pay you £35. You can receive only one payment of £35 in each charge year. If you complain to us about poor water pressure, we will visit you within three working days of receiving your complaint.

So give us a call to put your mind at rest. If you require the pressure to be measured at or near your home for a period of time the current charge is £55 for this service or £46 for a spot pressure check. We do not charge if the pressure is low due to a problem with our network.