Water Butts Enhanced Rain Water Storage Scheme Terms and Conditions

1.1. Severn Trent is a statutory water and sewage undertaker and is installing free water butts at thousands of homes across the UK to reduce the number and/or duration of Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) spills to the environment by collectively easing the demand placed on UK sewer networks during periods of rainfall. The water butt scheme will also assist residents in the collection of rainwater for the watering of plants and other environmentally friendly household uses ("Water Butt Scheme").

1.2. Severn Trent Water Limited is a company registered in England and Wales whose registered number is 02366686 and registered address is at Severn Trent Centre, 2 St John's Street, Coventry, CV1 2LZ.

1.3. If You have any questions about anything contained in this Agreement, You can contact Us by either:

Telephone: 08007834444; or

Email: waterbutts@severntrent.co.uk

1.4. This Agreement sets out the terms and conditions You need to agree to before proceeding with the Water Butt Scheme. Please read this Agreement in full and ensure You agree with its terms before completing and returning the Customer Authorisation Form to                                                                    waterbutts@severntrent.co.uk. 

2.1. We wish to draw Your attention to the provisions listed below, which are contained in this Agreement and are particularly important to Our relationship with You. However, the provisions set out below are not an exhaustive list, therefore it is extremely important that You read and understand this Agreement in full prior to completing and returning the Customer Authorisation Form.

• Clause 8 (Liability) sets out Our responsibility to You if We fail to do what we are agreeing to do in this Agreement, We do not limit in any way Our liability to You where it would be unlawful for Us to do so. As we are providing the water butt and carrying out its installation free of charge, our liability is limited to the cost of repairing any damage (if any) caused during the installation of the water butt.
• Clause 6 explains Our responsibilities as part of this Water Butt Scheme.  Please make sure You understand how the Water Butt Scheme operates.  You can contact Us if any aspect of the Water Butt Scheme is unclear to You.
• Clause 4 details the eligibility criteria for the Water Butt Scheme. Please ensure that you meet this criteria before applying to the scheme.

3.1. As part of the Water Butt Scheme We are offering, free of charge, to install a water butt at your property which will collect and hold rainwater.  We will be responsible for all costs associated with the water butt and it's installation at Your property and the water butt will at all times be owned by Us. We shall have the right to remove the Water Butt upon reasonable notice and at reasonable times. The water butt will be fitted with a slow return outlet valve which will slowly release 50% of the capacity of the water butt to the downpipe drain or via a soaker hose into the permeable surface ("Slow Return Function").   

3.2. If you are happy to agree to these terms and conditions and You wish to receive a water butt as part of the Water Butt Scheme, please complete the Customer Authorisation Form and submit the completed form to waterbutts@severntrent.co.uk. We will then review Your details and We will contact You to arrange a convenient date and time for the installation of the water butt at Your property. Should You wish to inform us of any details regarding access to the property or special conditions, please provide such information in the designated section of the Customer Authorisation Form. 

1.1. To proceed in applying for the Water Butt Scheme, You must:

a)     Live in a property  within a catchment area defined by Severn Trent as benefitting from the Water Butt Scheme; and

b)    Be a Severn Trent customer and have an active billing account; and

c)    Be the owner of the property or have the owner's express written permission for the installation of a water butt at the property;

        together the "Eligibility Criteria".

1.2. If You meet the above Eligibility Criteria, please sign the Customer Authorisation Form and return this to Us at waterbutts@severntrent.co.uk. 

5.1. By signing and returning the Customer Authorisation Form, indicating that you wish to apply for the installation of a water butt at your property, you agree to:

a) Provide access to Severn Trent, its employees, agents or contractors to enter your property and carry out the water butt installation, any repairs and any subsequent removal on the dates and at the times as agreed between You and Us in writing following Our acceptance of Your installation request; 

b) Acknowledge that the water butt will at all times belong to Severn Trent Water and agree that you will not sell, lease or otherwise dispose of the water butt without Our express written consent; and

c) Notify Us if the water butt becomes damaged or requires replacement and cooperate with Us to arrange an appropriate time for Us to install a replacement Water Butt. 

6.1. It is important that You know what Severn Trent is responsible for under the Water Butt Scheme and We hope the information below is helpful to You. Please contact Us if anything is unclear.

6.2. We will be responsible for: 

a)       Purchase and ownership of the water butt: We will purchase the water butt and will, at all times, retain ownership, title and interest in the water butt.

b)      Installation of the water butt: Once We have arranged a convenient time with You to access Your property and install the water butt, We (or our contractors) will install the water butt at a suitable location on Your property.

c)       Making good any damage: Whilst we will use all reasonable care to ensure that damage to your property does not occur, in the unlikely event that damage is caused by Us or Our contractors in the course of installing the water butt, we will take all necessary steps to rectify any damage and return your property to the condition it would have been in had the damage not occurred.

d)      Explanation of functionality and usage: We will provide useful information about how to optimise the usage of the water butt to maximise your positive environmental impact. We will suggest that, in anticipation of forecasted heavy rainfall, the water butt is emptied to increase its capacity to mitigate the risk of sewer flooding in your local area.

e)      Replacement and repair: Should you notify us that your water butt is in need of replacement or repair, We will contact You to arrange a convenient time to repair the water butt or provide a replacement.

f)        Collection of water butt: At the end of the useful life of the water butt or in circumstances where you no longer wish to take part in the Water Butt Scheme, We will arrange for a suitable time to collect the water butt.

6.3. When installing the water butt at Your property, We (or our appointed contractor) will:

a)       perform the installation (and removal if applicable) with the highest level of care, skill and diligence in accordance with the applicable regulatory requirements;

b)      ensure that We obtain all consents, licences and permissions (statutory, regulatory, contractual or otherwise) we may require and which are necessary to enable us to comply with our obligations under this Agreement;

c)       ensure that the installation and all goods, materials, standards and techniques used in carrying out the installation are of the best quality and free from defects in workmanship, installation and design;

d)      complete the installation in accordance with Severn Trent's policies; and

e)      comply with the relevant health and safety legislation as detailed at the Health and Safety Executive’s website: http://www.hse.gov.uk/.

6.4.   We may carry out a visit at Your property to confirm the installation of the water butt has been completed and You agree to allow Us to do this. We will let You know by either telephone or in writing prior to such visit. 

7.1.   The following are not covered under the Water Butt Scheme and are specifically excluded under this Agreement:

a)       any ongoing historical third-party land/access disputes;

b)      temporary building and/or structures with restricted access;

c)       graded and/or listed buildings; or

d)      health and safety concerns;

together the "Exclusions".

8.1.   We do not exclude Our liability (if any) to You relating to any personal injury or death resulting from Our negligence, fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation or any matter for which it would be illegal for Us to exclude, or attempt to exclude liability.

8.2.  In the event that We fail to do what We agree to do under this Agreement, we will not be liable to You except for the rectification of any damage caused during the installation of the water butt at Your property.  

9.1. You may change Your mind at any point and cancel this Agreement.

9.2.   We may also cancel this Agreement and end Your participation in the Water Butt Scheme if:

• You are not eligible in line with the Eligibility Criteria;
• We decide not to continue with the Water Butt Scheme; or
• You fail to operate the water butt in line with the Slow Return Function.

In either event, We will not deliver or install a water butt at your property or provide a replacement water butt if installation has already occurred. We may also elect to collect the water butt from your property upon reasonable notice and at reasonable times if we cancel the Agreement for the reasons stated above.

10.1.  As part of Your application, We will collect the following personal data from You:

a)       Name;

b)      Postal address;

c)       Mobile number;

d)      Email address;

e)      Property ownership status.

10.2. We will process and store Your data in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation ("UK GDPR") under the lawful basis of ‘legitimate interests’ for Your personal data. The information will be held by Us for as long as is necessary and in accordance with UK GDPR.

10.3. By completing the Customer Authorisation Form, You agree that You understand that We will collect your data for the purposes of managing and administering the Water Butt Scheme. We will also update Your Severn Trent account with Your latest contact details where these differ from Our records.

10.4. For more information on how We process Your personal data, including the rights You have in relation to these, You can review Our customer privacy promise on Our website: https://www.stwater.co.uk/help-and-contact/legal/privacy. You can also contact our Data Protection Officer by emailing dataprotection@severntrent.co.uk.

We may make changes to this Agreement but these changes will be effective only if provided to You in writing.

Each of the clauses of this Agreement operates separately.  If any court or relevant authority decides that any of them are unlawful, the remaining paragraphs will remain in full force and effect.

This Agreement is governed by English law and you can bring legal proceedings in respect of any disputes or claims in the English courts.