Are you well connected?

Dirty water from your home could be draining into the wrong sewer, causing pollution to rivers and beaches.

If your home was built after 1920, it is likely your property has two separate drains: a foul sewer and a surface water sewer.

A misconnection happens when foul water drainage, such as a washing machine, is connected to the surface water drain.

500,000

properties in the UK have a misconnection.

Check your home

As the homeowner, you are responsible for correcting any misconnections. Failure to do so could result in prosecution. 

Connect Right contains guidance on how you can check whether your home plumbing is connected properly and if it is not, what you can do to rectify the issue. You may need a plumber to check and correct the misconnection for you. 

To spot a possible misconnection look out for:

• a new manhole within your property may mean the drainage has been altered
• a new bathroom, toilet or kitchen may have resulted in a misconnection
• pipes connected to the downpipes from your roof guttering may mean you have a misconnection
• a washing machine or sink installed in a garage or outbuilding may be connected incorrectly to the surface water drain.