Water Industry Act 1991 CASES

October 5, 2025

National Case Law Archive

Lady justice with law books

Welsh Water v Barratt Homes Ltd [2013] EWCA Civ 233

A property developer, Barratt Homes, connected a surface water drainage system to a public foul sewer. The Court of Appeal held this was unlawful, clarifying that the statutory right to connect under the Water Industry Act 1991 is primarily for domestic premises, not for discharging surface water alone. Facts The appellant, Dŵr Cymru Cyfyngedig (Welsh Water), is the statutory sewerage undertaker for Wales. The respondent, Barratt Homes Ltd, is a property developer. Barratt Homes constructed a new residential development in Abergavenny and, in doing so, connected a new surface water drainage system serving the development to an existing public foul

September 30, 2025

National Case Law Archive

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Marcic v Thames Water Utilities Ltd [2003] UKHL 66

A homeowner whose property was repeatedly flooded by an overloaded public sewer sued the statutory undertaker. The House of Lords held that the comprehensive statutory scheme under the Water Industry Act 1991 provided the exclusive remedy, precluding claims in common law nuisance. Facts Mr Marcic, the claimant, owned a property that was repeatedly flooded with foul and surface water from overloaded public sewers operated by Thames Water Utilities Ltd, the defendant. The sewers had become inadequate to serve the properties connected to them, particularly after periods of rain. Thames Water was aware of the flooding problems since at least 1992