0844 414 6646Whats the difference between private pumping stations and adoptable pumping stations?
A key question that often comes up is about the difference between private pumping stations and adoptable pumping stations so this information provides the basic differences and potential advantages and disadvantages of the two types of systems.
A private pumping station is a pumping station that the owner/developer will install a pumping station to their own specification but will be responsible for the operation and maintenance of the pumping station. An adoptable pumping station is where the Water Utility company will take the pumping station over and once they have signed this off will take over the operation and maintenance of the system.
One key consideration to take into account is the number of houses/properties the pumping station will be serving. If the system is to remain private an agreement will have to be in place to determine how the system would be financed and cared for. This may be through a management company where all of the house owners have equal responsibility but this can make it harder to sell the properties as not everyone will want this responsibility.
Adoptable pumping stations are typically a more costly and time-consuming option during the installation as the system must be designed and built to the Water Companies guidelines. The Water Utility Companies specification is generally higher then that of a package pumping station and the space requirements for a pumping station are larger and could be the size of a housing plot.
The main advantage of an adoptable pumping station is that whilst the cost is higher initially due to the build and is more time-consuming, once the system has been adopted there is no responsibility on the developer and any issues are the Water Company’s issues. On smaller developments, an adoptable pumping station may be more unviable due to the costs and the space requirements.
We provide a typical 10-year lifecycle of the 2 different types of pumping stations to show the typical cost differences.
Cost Comparison
| Description | Private Pumping Station | Adoptable Pumping Station |
| Initial costs | £ 15,000.00 | £ 45,000.00 |
| Civil costs | £ 15,000.00 | £ 50,000.00 |
| Electricity costs | £ 5,000.00 | Water Company’s Responsibility |
| Maintenance | £ 10,000.00 | Water Company’s Responsibility |
| Call out costs | £ 10,000.00 | Water Company’s Responsibility |
| Replacement items | £ 8,000.00 | Water Company’s Responsibility |
| TOTAL COSTS | £ 63,000.00 | £ 95,000.00 |
These typical costs are based over a 10-year period and do not take into account the hassle the developer may get in managing the pumping station and dealing with complaints etc. On larger developments, the private pumping station costs increase at a greater rate than the adoptable pumping stations.
Further information on adoptable pumping stations can be found within the Sewerage Sector Guidance – approved documents.
If you need help choosing or specifying a pump station for your development call us on 0844 414 6646 to speak to one of our engineers or use our online contact form to tell us about your project.