"David J" wrote in message
...
My water rates invoice shows an (admittedly small) additional charge
for what is called 'surface water drainage' which is included in the
sewerage charge as 'foul & surface'.

Enquiries revealed that this was a charge for rain water running from
my drive onto the road. They admitted that they have no idea whether
it does, or not. In effect everybody is charged unless they can
successfully challenge the charge, in which case one of their
surveyors will have been to the property to establish the facts. I
reckon that my drive is level, with just a slope on the public
pavement onto the road level.

Question is: How can it be determined (unless it is raining) if a
level drive passes rain water onto the road? On both sides of my drive
are lawns, and surface water will also drain onto that. As the drive
is brickweave some of the rain will soak though the gaps. Many of my
neighbour's drives actually slope away from the road.

Isn't this just a big con by the Water Companies?

Now where I live, in the borough of Spelthorne, which is inside the M25
ring, not just the surface water from the houses but even the roads go into
soakaways. Thames Water have always known this but never volunteer the
information, so unless you are aware you still fork out the extra for
surface water drainage. When we all started claiming it back a few years
ago, having paid for over twenty years, they claimed that by law they only
had to refund the last two years.
--
Tinkerer