# public water pipe on private property



## rustyjack (21 Oct 2016)

hello,

there is a large water pipe on our private property servicing a number of apartments on our property - it does not service any other property.
We had always assumed this was a private pipe as there is no record of easement on the title deeds.
Irish water came on our property and installed water meters on this pipe without our permission.
On querying, the contractor sent us a map from irish water showing that the pipe was a mains pipe and that they had responsibility for it.

Can a mains pipe be claimed to be publicly owned (irish water now) if there is no easement or right of way on the title deeds?

thanks,
rusty


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## amtc (22 Oct 2016)

Yes a new Regulation SI391 of 2016 came into force this year


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## DirectDevil (22 Oct 2016)

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## Ravima (22 Oct 2016)

where did you think your water was coming from?


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## rustyjack (22 Oct 2016)

thanks for the replies.
i am not aware of that regulation - will ask our solicitor.
the issue is that we will want to build over the pipe in the future - this would require moving the pipe - if it is ours then we can do this without asking permission.
if irish water can come in and say it is theirs - they may block us moving it even though it crosses the centre of our land.
my limited understanding was if you had a public pipe or sewer on your land - it would show up on deeds.

thanks again
rustyjack


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## Peanuts (23 Oct 2016)

A lot of watermains and sewers were historically installed by local authorities without wayleaves being in place. This infrastructure is now the responsibility of Irish Water. Where the water main or sewers are being replaced or upgraded then this issue is being regularised, either by moving the pipe out of private property or by putting a wayleave in place. If the water main only serves apartments on your property its not likely to be very large (should be no more  than 8 inches diameter).  Regardless of whether or not there is an easement or wayleave for the pipe it would not be a good idea to construct an extension over the pipe  (if there's a wayleave you would not be allowed to) as I've heard horror stories of leaking pipes undermining foundations. It should not be a major issue to reroute the water main as part of the construction of an extension.


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## rustyjack (23 Oct 2016)

Thanks a lot peanuts - I modified the last post to make clear that we will want to move pipe in the future. The pipe is 4 inch.
What we are concerned is if irish water can lay claim to the 4 inch pipe on our land, can they stop us moving it if we build extension?


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## Peanuts (2 Nov 2016)

rustyjack said:


> Thanks a lot peanuts - I modified the last post to make clear that we will want to move pipe in the future. The pipe is 4 inch.
> *What we are concerned is if irish water can lay claim to the 4 inch pipe on our land, can they stop us moving it if we build extension*?



I'm not sure they could rustyjack if there's no wayleave in place. In anycase I doubt they would try unless there's a particular reason (e.g. moving it would make it inaccessible in the future). Ideally if you are moving the pipe you should try to move it to the front of the property or onto the footpath. IW's main concern will be that the works are done properly and that any shutdowns of supplies to your neighbours are minimised. They may want to have the work undertaken by one of their contractors so they can control the process. If you are seriously considering the extension you should make contact with somebody in your local authorities water services section and ask then who to speak to in Irish water.


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