A misconnection is when a home or business has wrongly connected their plumbing into the surface water system, which eventually discharges into rivers or streams, instead of the public sewerage network where it is treated.

This can happen when a building is extended, during home improvements or when a property is built. It can range from something as simple as a wrongly connected washing machine or dishwasher to something more serious such as toilet waste or even whole estates feeding into surface water drains.

If you’re the property owner it’s usually your responsibility to fix misconnections and failure to do so could result in legal action being taken by the local authority or Environment Agency. 

For more information, see the connect right leaflet here.