Surface water rebate

What is surface water?

Surface water is rain water that falls onto a property and runs from drainpipes, drives or paths into a drain or a road gulley into a public sewer. For most customers, the cost of removing and treating surface water is included in their sewerage charge.

However, there are some properties where surface water does not drain into one of our sewers. For example, rain water may drain into a purpose-built soak away or into a stream, river or watercourse via a private sewer. If this applies to your property you may be able to claim a reduction in your charges. We call this the surface water rebate.

We know that there are companies out there who will contact you claiming to be able to reduce your water bill. These companies usually charge a fee to investigate if savings are possible, or keep part of any savings that are identified. Remember: there is no need to pay a third party for something that you can do directly with us for free.

What is a surface water rebate?

Almost everyone who’s connected to our sewer network pays towards the overall cost of looking after rain water or surface water that enters our system.

But if your property’s surface water ends up somewhere other than in our sewers, then you can claim a reduction in the amount that you pay towards this cost.

Do I qualify?

In order to apply for the reduction you must be connected to our public sewer and currently pay sewerage charges. Please note that collecting surface water from a roof into a water butt does not qualify for a reduction as this isn’t a permanent fixture.

You only qualify for the discount if no surface water, rain water or ground water enters our network. There is no reduction for partial drainage, for example, some water enters a soak-away and some water enters our network.

How can I apply?

For domestic and small commercial properties:

• You can complete the application form in our booklet and return to us at Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water, PO Box 690, Cardiff, CF3 5WL.
• You can call us on 0800 052 0145. We’re open 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday and 9.00am to 1.00pm on Saturdays

What happens once I have applied?

Once we’ve received your application, we will contact you to let you know what will happen next. We will probably need to visit your property to confirm the drainage arrangements. It’s really important for you to continue to pay your charges as normal while we review your application. If we cannot accept your application or you are not entitled to the rebate we will explain why.