On Tue, 10 Apr 2012 09:12:14 +0100, Roland Perry
wrote:

In message , at 00:24:07 on
Tue, 10 Apr 2012, Charles Ellson remarked:
In my previous 1920's house there were two of the large rectangular
pressed steel manhole covers in my drive. The one nearest the road was
already the water company's responsibility and the other remains the
householder's responsibility. I wonder how big a dent in the cover is
required before you can require the water company to replace them?

pedant
sewerage company
/pedant
(one all ?)

No, because both were the responsibility of the same company - Severn
Trent Water.

Which is both a sewerage and a water company;

They call themselves "Severn Trent Water", not "Severn Trent Water and
Sewerage" or "Severn Trent Sewerage".

There are also companies with names including Fanny Trollopes and the
Knob Shop.

Therefore it's polite (as well as
correct) to refer to them as they refer to themselves - a water company.

They do ? :-
"Severn Trent Water is a member of the Severn Trent Group of
companies. Severn Trent plc is an international utility services and
environmental solutions company."

They also don't appear to describe themselves as a water company when
they only take the used stuff away or when flogging the end product of
their "biosolids recycling" [sic].

(Perhaps I should mention the name Veolia to keep things
simultaneously on-topic and off-topic ?)

the distinction is important when they connect their pipework to your
house.

Not in my case.

In my case two different companies are involved.

And you made an erroneous assumption that the same applied to myself.

No, I assumed that you have both mains water and a connection to a
public sewer.