Building and Developing
Shared supply separation scheme
A shared or joint supply is where a group of homes connect to our network at the same point. This means all properties share responsibility for repair and maintenance of the pipework.
If you live in a terraced house or apartment, you may have a shared supply.
You can check if you're on a shared supply by checking for external stop taps. The external stop tap is usually located in the pavement or on the boundary of your property.
If there is an external stop tap for every home then you're on single supply.
If there is only one external stop tap for a block of houses then you share a supply with your neighbours.
If you experience intermittent, poor flow, it could be a sign that you share a supply.
The flow to your home may improve if you switch to a single supply.
To leave a shared supply, you will need to arrange a new connection with us. An accredited plumber must install your private pipework.
After the pipework is installed, we will inspect it and check it meets the right standards.
It's vital that we check and approve any new private pipework before connection, so we can make sure it's safe to use.
There's a simple test you can do at home to check if you have poor flow or low pressure.
To carry out this test, you'll need to know where your internal stop tap is. This is usually under the kitchen sink or in a utility room.
- Run a downstairs cold tap
- Turn your internal stop tap off and on six times
- Turn the downstairs tap fully on, and time how long it takes to fill a one litre jug
- If the jug fills in less than seven seconds, the flow and pressure to your home is fine
If it takes longer that seven seconds to fill the jug, you may have a problem with your flow or pressure.
There are several different causes of pressure and flow issues, including:
- leaks
- plumbing work
- nearby supply interruptions.
There are some steps you can take to narrow down the cause before reporting the issue to us.
