Frequently asked questions for Water and Wastewater Services Provided to Premises Connected to Ministry of Defence (MOD) Water and Wastewater Assets (Pipes and Systems)
Our records show that your property is connected to MOD systems for water and/or wastewater (sewage treatment) services. As a result, and as determined by the Government, you must pay for the services that you receive from the MOD’s private water and wastewater networks and systems.
Severn Trent Services have been appointed by the MOD to manage and maintain the MOD water and wastewater networks and systems. Severn Trent Services are also MOD’s billing agent and issue bills on MOD’s behalf to Customers such as yourself.
No. Severn Trent Services are a commercial water services contractor which operates private water systems on behalf of customers across the UK. Severn Trent Water Limited are the Regulated Statutory Undertaker for water services in the Midlands.
You can use whichever contact method is the most convenient for you:
General Enquiries and questions:
- Email: customer.enquiries@stservices.co.uk
- Telephone: 0345 3510208
Billing and Payment Queries:
- Email: stsaccounts@stservices.co.uk
- Telephone: 02475 380360
The MOD set the charges for water and/or wastewater services provided to your property. The charges are calculated on a case by case basis but are usually capped at no more than the charge you would be paying if you were connected to the public systems managed by your local water company. Severn Trent Services has no ability to change or reduce these charges and any requests must be directed to the MOD through Severn Trent Services.
There will be several historic reasons but, in the past, your property may have been part of MOD land such as former Married Quarters accommodation. Often, it is too costly to connect your property to the public networks, so the private supply arrangements remain for water and/or wastewater. You may wish to pursue the cost of connection to the public network(s) but your local water company might require you to pay a one-off connection charge which reflects the cost of making connections to public systems.
The public water companies are funded to provide a proportion of free water meters to properties connected to their networks. MOD does not fund the provision of free meters but there is the option for you to pay for the installation of a water meter.
As mentioned in Q.3 above, Severn Trent Services is a separate company and is not able to access the free meter option available from Severn Trent Water Ltd.
As mentioned in Question 7, MOD will not fund meter installation. Usually, meter
installation costs are lower when large numbers can be installed at the same time. If yours
is the only meter installation request received for your area, costs will unfortunately be
higher.
Not always. Without a meter, water and wastewater charges are assessed using an
average annual volume of water consumed. If a meter is installed, charges are calculated
using the actual volume of water consumed. In this case, your meter will record any leakage
or wastage inside your property, or within your property boundary. As a result, metered
water charges could be more than the assessed or assumed volume charges.
It is important to note that OFWAT is the economic regulator for public water
companies in England and Wales. As your services are delivered by a private network,
OFWAT have no direct relationship with the company providing services to your property.
However, if you are unhappy with your charges, or if you wish to escalate a customer
complaint you can contact Severn Trent Services in the first instance.
The records and information held on occupiers of properties connected to the MOD’s
networks is not always up to date because we are not informed of a change in occupancy.
If you provide details to Severn Trent Services of exactly when you moved in, Severn Trent
Services will speak to MOD who will confirm whether the bill can be revised.
To be consistent and fair to all customers, MOD are unable to offer reductions to bills
issued unless there has been a clear error in calculating the amounts due. To support
customers who are struggling to pay, Severn Trent Services may be able to offer payment
terms which spread the cost over time.
Yes, we currently offer this payment facility as our preferred method. You can set up
payments for the 1st , 15th or 30th of each month. Alternatively, there are other payment
options at the back of the bill in which you can make payment to us. Just contact our billing
and payments team who can send you a form to fill in. Contact details are included in Q.4
above.
It seems you may have been on the Severn Trent Water Ltd website which only holds
details for properties served by that separate company in the Midlands. We do not have an
online system where you can manage your account, make payments, or inform us if you
have moved in or moved out. All details of how to manage your account can be found at the
back of the bill.
Water and/or wastewater services supplied via MOD networks are classed as private
water supplies. Unless there is a direct connection to an “appointed” local water or
sewerage company, it is not possible for your business to choose your water services
provider.
We want to ensure that we share as much information as possible to help customers. As we receive questions, we will add the answers to this sheet and publish a new version on our website. Questions can be directed to the contact points in Question 4.
Still have questions?
If our frequently asked questions don’t cover your query then please feel free to get in touch via the contact details below.
Contact Us
For network or supply queries
0345 3510208
For billing and payment queries
02475 380360