If you’ve received a letter from us about a possible leak at your business, don’t worry. The simple information on this page will help you understand why we’ve reached out, as well as what you need to do next.   ​

Why have I received a letter about a potential leak at my business premises?  

We’re rolling out smart meters for homes and businesses across the region, to help track water usage and spot anything unusual. We got in touch with you because we spotted that there’s a constant water flow at your premises: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This suggests you might have a leak. 
 
The type of letter you’ve received will depend on the flow of water, shown in the table below: 

 

Range of continuous flow table
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What should I do?

If you use water 24 hours a day:

Some businesses - like healthcare facilities, hotels, manufacturing or food processing - need to use water around the clock.  If you received a letter and your business does use water 24 hours a day, please email us as at businessleaks@anglianwater.co.uk. Alternatively, contact your water retailer, who can confirm the legitimate water usage with us.  We'll remove you from the notification process and stop sending you letters. 

If you're not sure or don't use water 24/7:  

If there's no obvious reason for constant water flow at your premises, we recommend investigating further.  Leaks can get worse over time, so it's worth getting it sorted as soon as possible.

Below are some handy steps on how you can check for a leak yourself, before contacting your retailer or plumber:

 

Steps for checking leaks
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If you need help from a plumber, you can find a list of approved professionals at watersafe.org.uk - but contact your retailer first as they may offer their own repair services.

 

Leakage Allowance 

If you discover you’ve got a leak, you may be eligible for a leakage allowance once it’s fixed. This is to cover the extra water and sewerage costs caused by the leak. 
 
To request a leakage allowance, contact your retailer. They’ll help you apply for the allowance by submitting a request for us to review. 
 
Leakage allowances are granted based on the conditions below:

 

water-proportion-table-1.png

 

Do I qualify for a leakage allowance?

Water allowances are only granted if the leak is directly on the meter.  Sewerage allowances apply only if the leaked water didn't do into the sewer system.

Allowances won't be granted if:

  • a Wasted Water notice has already been issued
  • the leak was due to negligence (eg: not maintaining equipment)
  • the claim is made more than 12 weeks after the repair date
  • the leak occurred on internal pipework (inside the building)
  • the leak was on private pipework

 

We calculate the allowance by comparing your average water usage to the usage recorded during the leak period.  This helps us to determine the extra costs that the allowance will cover. 

There are no limits on the number of sewerage allowances you can claim, as long as the leaks are not due to negligence and leaks are repaired promptly after being identified. 

If you have any questions, or need help with the process, please contact your retailer.

 

I’m a retailer what should I do if our customer has received a letter?  ​
If your customer's received a leak letter, it would be useful if you can confirm their water useage (eg: they legitimately use water 24 hours a day), as well as help the customer identify and fix their leak.  We send out weekly reports via Hubble, which contain all the information about potential continuous flow cases for non-household customers.  This also includes examples of the letters we send and the dates they were sent out.

If you have any questions - or would like to work with Anglian Water on reducing business demand - reach out to your Wholesale Account Manager or email us at: wsc@anglianwater.co.uk.  ​

To request a leakage allowance for your customer, please send us the information through the Central Market Hub, using an H/01 form.