Water Leak

Dispute

The customer noted that there had been a continuous sound of water gushing between the party walls of his house and that of his neighbour. They believed that the issue was caused by a mains water leak from a pipe belonging to Uisce Éireann (UÉ) and felt that they, as the national water services provider, should be held responsible for any property damage caused to either or both houses.

The customer requested UÉ call to the properties and check the foundations of both houses, and if there was water damage found, to repair same. UÉ upon contact from the customer, requested the customer conduct a plumber’s report to confirm that the issue was not due to internal pipework in the property and therefore a private matter. The customer provided a plumber’s report to UÉ to confirm that there was no issue with the internal pipework.

UÉ, in turn, attended the premises to conduct an assessment and found that the leak did not have anything to do with UÉ assets. After continued engagement with the customer over many months, UÉ conducted a full investigation which provided evidence that it was not an issue with UÉ mains pipe but an issue with a private pipe that required capping on a piece of derelict land.

The conclusion, from UÉ’s investigation, was that the customer’s property was built on the site of an old factory that would have contained a private water network. A dig revealed an old water connection (most likely part of the old factory) that was still active and should not have been left in an active state. It should have been capped by the owner of the property and identified by the builder. A stop valve was installed by UÉ which resolved the issue with the water noise at the properties.

UÉ acknowledged the delay in finding the leak both due to Covid-19 and due to UÉ’s mapping system only showing UÉ’s assets and not the private networks in the area. UÉ repaired the leak, despite it not resulting from an UÉ asset.

Outcome

The CRU did not uphold the customer’s complaint as there was no evidence that the leak was an UÉ asset but rather a private asset. UÉ is not obliged to maintain or conduct repairs of private assets. During the investigation, the CRU identified two customer service issues and awarded two Charter Payments.