Useful Terms

Below is a list of useful terms and a diagram that shows how some of them relate to each other. You will find these terms mentioned elsewhere on this section, and in any correspondence that we may send you.

Service Pipe
Communication Pipe (CP)/Company Service Pipe
Supply Pipe (SP)/Customer Service Pipe
Main
Distribution Main
Trunk Main
Boundary Box
Stop Tap

Service Pipe ^top

The whole of the water pipe from the main to the first internal water fitting. The pipe is divided into two sections: the communication pipe and the customer supply pipe.

Communication Pipe (CP)/Company Service Pipe ^top

This is normally the length of pipe from the connection with the water main, to a point where the pipe crosses the boundary of the street within which the main is laid. This pipe is normally maintained by Bristol Water.

Supply Pipe (SP)/Customer Service Pipe ^top

This is normally the length of pipe from the boundary of the street within which the main is laid, up to the first internal water fitting. In exceptional cases the supply pipe can extend right up to the connection to the main. This section is owned and maintained by the owners of the property/ies served by that pipe

Main ^top

Most mains can be divided into one of two categories: distribution mains and trunk mains.

Distribution Main ^top

Distribution mains are generally medium diameter pipes that distribute water to a number of buildings in an area. They are the responsibility of Bristol Water and are normally laid along public highways - sometimes in the carriageway and sometimes in the footpath. They can also be installed in privately owned streets or lanes and across fields or public open spaces. Occasionally they can be found in other locations. Communication pipes are connected directly onto distribution mains.

Trunk Main ^top

Trunk mains are generally large diameter mains that transfer water from one area to another. We have no legal duty to make service connections to trunk mains, and due to their strategic importance we do not normally do so. This is so that their integrity can be maintained.

Boundary Box ^top

These are the small underground chambers in which stop taps and meters are installed. Nowadays they are normally installed either in the back edge of the footpath or less than one metre inside the boundary of the property supplied. They are maintained by Bristol Water.

Stop Tap ^top

These are often known as stop cocks. They are valves, operated by turnable handles that stop the flow of water in a pipe. Most supplies will have an internal one, located on the supply pipe as it rises into the habitable part of a property (often in the kitchen), and a second, external one, located in the boundary box. The internal one is the responsibility of the property owner while the external one is generally the responsibility of Bristol Water.