Villagers face paying thousands over water pipe dispute

Lewis Smith, Local Democracy Reporter

Residents living in a row of five homes say they face repair bills running into thousands of pounds after being told they must fix a leaking shared water pipe.

Householders in the village of Pontycymer, Bridgend county, say Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water has told them the pipe supplying their properties is their responsibility and must be repaired at their own expense.

The residents say there are no visible signs of a leak from the pipe, which runs beneath a back garden, and they have noticed no loss of water pressure.

They claim they have been told they must resolve the issue by the end of July or face prosecution.

They claim this is “bullying tactics” from the water board to try and make them pay for repair works despite offering no evidence of where the leak actually is.

One resident, Nerys Walters, said the dispute had brought her massive amounts of stress over the last two years with prosecution looming if they don’t pay for the works they estimate could cost over £7,000 each.

This would go towards replacing the rear water pipe in their back gardens with a new pipe at the front of the terraced row, along with connecting it to each house individually.

Speaking to the Local Democracy reporting Service, Nerys said while they initially thought they could get these repairs made through their insurance, with no evidence of the leak being provided, insurers have said they would not pay out.

Nerys said: “It’s been a nightmare situation for us that has really caused us all a lot of stress. Welsh Water have said they would pay for a new line that runs parallel to the front of property, but we would then have to fund the cost of it coming in from the gate, and through the house to our rear stop-cock.

“We spoke to numerous contractors who quoted us at more than a thousand pounds a metre for this work which we don’t have spare.

“Our insurance company said they would pay but first they needed a report from Welsh Water with evidence of where the leak is coming from and confirming that we are responsible for it.

“This has been going on for about year and a half now and we’ve been asking for that evidence ever since, but have been given nothing.

“No evidence of the leak, and no reason as to why they adopted other pipes in the street but not ours. All the while the deadline they have given runs down. It’s been very difficult and we just want to get it sorted.”

Eddie Wood who has lived on the row for more than 30 years said he had also been impacted by the situation, describing sleepless nights since the letter about the leaking pipe first arrived.

He added: “I’ve been very worried about it. They told us there was a leak and we had to fix it, but when we looked on the deeds there was nothing on there about responsibility for the pipe.

“I worry about it when I’m in bed at night and even first thing in the morning. I’m 86 now so I don’t have the money coming in that I used to and it can feel quite isolating having to fight such a big organisation.”

A Labour councillor from Bridgend, Martyn Jones, said this was a “distressing” time for the Pontycymer residents who were being forced to meet the substantial repair costs for an issue they had no prior knowledge of.

He said: “On behalf of the residents I have met with an engineer from Dwr Cymru, and I have yet to see any evidence that one or more householders are liable.

“The engineer in possession of water supply plans was unable to identify where the leak had been discovered.

“The course of action currently being undertaken by Dwr Cymru concerns me in that I question how many other residents living in the Garw Valley and beyond are equally vulnerable if a similar situation was to develop elsewhere.

“Enforcement and prosecution should be the last resort. I appeal to Dwr Cymru to reconsider its position and work with local residents especially those who are financially vulnerable.”

Free connection

A Welsh Water spokesperson said: “We have been working with the residents at Gwaun Bant, Pontycymer, Bridgend, who have a leak on a private, shared pipe to their properties.

“The pipe is not owned or managed by Dwr Cymru Welsh Water and is the responsibility of the property owners. However, to support the residents we have offered a free connection to our main if each property connects individually.

“We appreciate this will be an inconvenience for customers so we have also offered a contribution towards the cost of the required work to get a pipe from the properties to the main.”

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