Some community organisations and schools may qualify for reduced or capped surface water drainage charges. However, eligibility, charging treatment and application requirements vary between wastewater wholesalers.
Surface Water Drainage Charges
Surface water drainage can represent a significant part of a non-household water and wastewater bill, particularly for premises with large roofs, playgrounds, car parks or other hardstanding areas.
Some wastewater wholesalers operate concessionary charging schemes for specified community groups or educational establishments. These schemes may reduce or cap certain drainage charges, but they are not a universal national discount. They do not apply automatically to every charity, school, sports club or community organisation.
What are concessionary surface water drainage charges?
Concessionary charging schemes are arrangements through which a wastewater wholesaler may reduce surface water drainage charges for eligible community groups.
Section 43 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 allows water and sewerage undertakers to include reductions for community groups within their charging schemes. Each undertaker can determine whether to provide a scheme, which classes of community group may benefit and what reduction will apply. A concession cannot reduce the charge to zero.
There is therefore no single concessionary scheme covering every organisation or every wholesale region.
The availability and value of a concession depends on the wastewater wholesaler serving the premises and the conditions contained in its current scheme.
Why were concessionary schemes introduced?
Surface water drainage charges contribute towards the cost of collecting and treating rainwater that falls on roofs, car parks and other hard surfaces before entering the public sewer network.
Historically, some surface water drainage charges were calculated using a property’s rateable value. When certain water companies moved to site area charging, some community and voluntary organisations experienced substantial increases because they occupied properties with comparatively large roofs, halls, car parks or other hardstanding areas.
Government information published when the legislation was introduced identified concerns about unaffordable drainage charges affecting organisations such as Scout groups, sports clubs and places of worship. The legislation enabled water and sewerage companies to introduce concessionary schemes in response.
How do concessionary charges work?
The precise arrangement depends on the wastewater wholesaler.
A scheme may:
Cap eligible charges at the wholesaler’s lowest general charging band.
Apply a separate set of concessionary charging bands.
Reduce specified drainage charges for qualifying premises.
Apply different reductions to different categories of community group.
Not every wastewater wholesaler calculates surface water drainage charges in the same way. The applicable method may depend on the region, the type of premises and the wholesaler’s published tariff.
An organisation should not assume that a concession available in one wholesale region will operate in the same way elsewhere.
An example of a current concessionary scheme
The current United Utilities community group scheme applies to surface water and highway drainage charges for qualifying organisations.
Under that scheme, eligible charges are capped at the lowest site area charging band, identified as United Utilities Band 1 or the retailer’s equivalent. Applications are made through the organisation’s water retailer.
Organisations that may qualify under the scheme include:
Places of public religious worship
Properties occupied by Scout and Guide Associations and similar youth or children’s groups
Community amateur sports clubs and similar types of sports clubs
Village halls and community centres
Similar buildings owned or leased by community associations
Sea Cadet units
Local-authority parks
Cemeteries
These categories do not provide automatic eligibility.
Under the scheme, the principal use of the premises must be associated with the activities of the eligible group. The eligible organisation must also be responsible for paying the property’s water and sewerage bill and must satisfy the relevant general and category specific requirements.
This is one regional example. Other wastewater wholesalers may apply different eligibility criteria, charging arrangements or terminology.
Does being a charity establish eligibility?
Not necessarily.
Charitable, community or not-for-profit status does not automatically mean that an organisation qualifies for concessionary charges.
For example, the current United Utilities community group scheme states that registered charities and Community Interest Companies do not automatically qualify unless they fall within one of the eligible categories. They must also meet the relevant conditions for that category.
This is an important distinction. A concession is not a general charity discount. It is a particular charging treatment available when the organisation, premises and principal use satisfy the applicable wholesaler’s scheme.
What evidence might be required?
Evidence requirements vary according to the wastewater wholesaler and the category under which the organisation applies.
Depending on the scheme, supporting information may include:
Registration or affiliation evidence
A Community Amateur Sports Club registration number
Constitutional or governing documents
Membership and pricing information
Evidence of activities undertaken at the premises
Financial statements or information about funding
Evidence demonstrating the principal use of the premises
Confirmation of responsibility for the water and sewerage account
The supporting evidence published for the United Utilities community group scheme gives different requirements for places of worship, youth organisations, sports clubs, Sea Cadets, community centres and village halls. It also states that further evidence may be requested.
An organisation should not assume that its name, charitable status or general description will be sufficient on its own.
Is the concession applied automatically?
It should not be assumed.
Some premises may already have been identified and placed on an appropriate charging treatment. Others may need to apply through their water retailer and provide supporting evidence.
United Utilities advises that some premises, particularly places of worship, may already have been proactively identified. It recommends checking the bill or asking the retailer to confirm whether the concession has been applied.
A practical review should establish:
Which wastewater wholesaler serves the premises.
Whether that wholesaler operates a relevant scheme.
Whether the organisation appears to satisfy the current criteria.
Whether the concession has already been recorded against the account.
Whether the appropriate charging treatment is appearing on the retailer’s bills.
Are schools covered by concessionary schemes?
Schools should be considered separately from general community group schemes.
United Utilities confirms that it offers two concessionary schemes, one for certain community groups and another for schools.
Its published school scheme applies to an educational establishment that:
Is used exclusively or nearly exclusively for the education and tuition of students for any or all of Key Stages 1 to 5, or equivalent; and
Has an attached playground facility.
The published information describes concessionary surface water and highway drainage site area charges that are approximately 50% of the corresponding non-concessionary charges, except at Band 1, where the concessionary and non-concessionary charges are the same.
This should not be described simply as a 50% reduction in a school’s water bill. The concession relates to qualifying surface water and highway drainage site area charges, not every element of the water and wastewater account.
Schools in other wholesale regions should check the current arrangements applying to their premises rather than assuming that the same concession is available nationally as in most regions it is not.
Can charges be adjusted retrospectively?
Potentially, but this should never be assumed.
Retrospective adjustment rules can depend on:
The wastewater wholesaler
The particular concessionary scheme
The type of organisation
The date on which the scheme was introduced
The application date
The available supporting evidence
The account and billing history
Under the current United Utilities community group scheme, the published retrospective adjustment periods differ by category. The scheme provides for adjustments of up to six years for certain categories and up to six months for others.
An organisation should not assume that a successful application will produce a refund or credit for every previous charging year. The applicable scheme, account history and available evidence must be considered before reaching a conclusion about any potential retrospective adjustment.
What if the organisation does not receive the bill directly?
This may affect both eligibility and the application process.
Some organisations occupy premises where water and wastewater costs are managed by:
A landlord
A local authority
A managing agent
An estate owner
A facilities management provider
Another organisation responsible for a shared account
In these circumstances, an occupier may contribute towards the water cost through rent, a service charge or another shared arrangement without being named on the retailer’s account.
Some concessionary schemes require the eligible organisation to be responsible for paying the water and sewerage bill. This is an express requirement of the current United Utilities community group scheme.
The account structure and the wholesaler’s eligibility rules therefore need to be checked before concluding that a concession is available. Where another party holds the account, its cooperation may be necessary to examine the charges or make an appropriate enquiry.
Is a concession the same as a surface water drainage reduction?
No. These are different charging considerations.
A concessionary charge is normally based on the type of organisation, the principal use of the premises and the rules of the applicable wholesaler scheme.
A surface water drainage reduction, rebate, allowance or abatement is normally connected to the physical drainage arrangements at the site. It may be relevant where some or all of the rainwater does not enter the public sewer or where an eligible sustainable drainage system (SuDS) is in place.
For example, United Utilities separately identifies:
Concessionary schemes for community groups and schools.
Potential reductions where more than 10% of a site’s surface water does not drain to the public sewer.
A potential reduction in chargeable area where surface water drains through a qualifying sustainable drainage system.
A site could potentially qualify for one form of charging treatment but not another. Each question needs to be considered separately.
Does receiving a concession mean the account is correct?
Not necessarily.
The presence of a concession may confirm that one particular charging treatment has been applied. It does not establish that every aspect of the account is correct.
Further questions could include:
Has the concession been applied to every relevant premises or supply point?
Is the correct organisation recorded against the account?
Does the current use of the premises continue to satisfy the scheme?
Is the correct site area band or other tariff recorded?
Has the concession been reflected correctly on the retailer’s invoices?
Is the underlying chargeable area accurate?
Does all the recorded surface area drain to the public sewer?
Have changes to the site, occupancy or organisation been reflected?
An independent review considers whether the available account, tariff, site and supporting information provides reasonable support for the charges. It does not assume that an error or saving exists.
What should an organisation check?
If your organisation is a school, community group, sports club, place of worship or another potentially eligible body, consider establishing:
Which company is the wastewater wholesaler for the premises.
Who holds and pays the retailer account.
How surface water drainage is currently charged.
Whether the wholesaler operates a relevant concessionary scheme.
Whether the organisation and premises satisfy the current criteria.
Whether an application has previously been made.
Whether the concession already appears on the account.
Whether every relevant site or supply point has been considered.
What evidence is available to support eligibility.
Whether the underlying site and drainage information also warrant review.
An organisation should not assume that a longstanding charge is necessarily incorrect. Equally, it should not assume that concessionary eligibility has been considered simply because the account has existed for many years.
How WTR Utilities can help
WTR Utilities provides independent support to non-household organisations seeking greater assurance over their water and wastewater charges.
A review relevant to concessionary charges may consider:
The wastewater wholesaler serving the premises
The current published charging scheme
The organisation’s status and use of the property
Available bills and account information
The charging treatment currently applied
Relevant site and supply point records
Evidence that may be required to support an enquiry
Whether wider surface water drainage questions should also be investigated
Where the evidence raises a reasonable question, WTR Utilities can help identify the appropriate next enquiries and explain the findings in clear language.
Our role is not to assume that an organisation qualifies or to create an unnecessary dispute. It is to examine the available evidence, establish whether further investigation is justified and support a fair, properly evidenced outcome.
In Summary
Concessionary surface water drainage schemes can be overlooked because they are not uniform across the water industry.
The fact that an organisation is a charity, school, sports club or community group does not automatically establish eligibility. The relevant treatment may depend on the organisation’s activities, the use of the premises, responsibility for the account and the wastewater wholesaler serving the site.
Has your organisation’s eligibility been checked against the current wholesaler scheme, and is the appropriate charging treatment reflected in what you pay?
Could your organisation qualify for concessionary treatment?
If your organisation operates a school, community facility, place of worship, sports club or other potentially eligible premises, WTR Utilities can independently review the available charging and account information and help you understand whether further investigation is justified.
Important information: This article provides general information about concessionary surface-water drainage charging arrangements and reflects published information reviewed for the 2026/27 charging year.
Eligibility criteria, evidence requirements, charging methods and retrospective adjustment rules vary between wastewater wholesalers and may change. Nothing in this article confirms that a particular organisation qualifies for a concession or that its current charges are incorrect. The applicable wholesaler documentation and the individual circumstances of the premises should be reviewed before reliance is placed on any potential concession.