Building over or near our assets

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Message last updated - Saturday 06^th June 2026

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Message last updated - Saturday 06^th June 2026

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Anglian Water is responsible for maintaining thousands of kilometres of public sewers to ensure the safe removal of waste water from domestic and commercial properties.

These sewers are often located within the boundaries of private properties and sometimes within the vicinity of buildings. If you're planning to improve your home by adding an extension, garage or new conservatory, then we may need to be involved and we would like to help.

Before getting started.

You'll need to establish if there is a public sewer in the vicinity of your proposed works. This handy guide will assist you in doing so. Generally speaking, you're responsible for sewers on your property that serve only your property. Anglian Water is responsible for all other sewers. Including any pipes you share with your neighbours and some surface water pipes, which take rainwater away from your home.

I’ve found a public sewer – what happens now?

Building over or near to a sewer pipe could lead to damage to your home or the pipe itself, if not done correctly. It’s therefore important that the design of your building works considers the location, depth and size of the sewer to establish any protection measures that may be required.

At this stage, we'd recommend that you assess your proposals against our standard criteria. These criteria have been made available to enable you to carry out your own assessment and determine whether further consultation with Anglian Water is required.

If your proposed works comply with ALL of the criteria, you will not be required to consult us regarding your proposals.

If you're unsure whether your proposals comply with the criteria, you can submit a consultation to Anglian Water using our online Customer Portal. We'll assess the details you provide and confirm whether a Build Over application is required.

If you're unable to comply with ALL of the criteria, you're required to make an application to build over or near to the public sewer. We'll assess your proposals and enter into a Build Over Agreement with you, consenting to your building works, once the drawings are acceptable. To ensure a speedy turnaround, please ensure the site boundary is coloured green and the public sewer is coloured red on all drawings provided. Visit our online Customer Portal and click on ‘Drainage’ to submit an application to Build over/near the public sewer.

What else do I need to know?

Under no circumstances will we permit building over a sewer or lateral drain where:

The sewer is pressurised, i.e. a pumping/rising main
A manhole/chamber will be inside a building
An entirely new dwelling/building is proposed

Anglian Water promotes development in in our region and will always work with you to make your proposals become a reality. If it's not possible to build over the sewer, you can submit an application to divert it away from the building works, if feasible to do so. This application can be made using our online Customer Portal. Please feel free to give us a call on 03456 066 087 to discuss this with you further.

If the existing pipe is discovered to be in a poor state or the material is pitch fibre, then in order for a build over to be considered, you'll be required to re-lay the length of pipe underneath the structure at your own cost. This will minimise the risk of the pipe failing structurally after construction, and the potential for inconvenience and loss of service to you in the future.

Your building work may need planning permission or building regulations approval from the local authority. Some work falls under homeowners’ permitted development rights or may not require Building Regulations approval. Car ports and small conservatories often fall into this category, but it's always best to check if permission is required with the local authority. Please be aware that none of these permissions give you automatic consent to build over, or close to, a public sewer. The above process is designed to ensure your development can proceed whilst ensuring that both your property and our sewers are protected.

If an agreement is entered into and an inspection is required, we now have the ability to carry out some of your appointments virtually.

Need help or further information with your drainage application?

Email the team

Call: 03456 066 087 (08:00 to 17:00 Monday to Friday)

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