Householders in a Staffordshire village wrongly charged for surface water drainage for many years are to receive more than £400,000 from Severn Trent Water, following the intervention of the Consumer Council for Water. In a landmark case, 700 homes and local businesses in Marchington near Uttoxeter in the East Midlands will share the rebate after Severn Trent agreed to refund the incorrectly billed customers back to the year 2001.This is the first time such a settlement has been reached covering an entire village and was achieved with the support of the local Parish Council and the Consumer Council for Water. The village’s drinking water supplier and billing company is South Staffordshire Water which collects waste water charges on behalf of Severn Trent, owners of the waste sewers, but not the surface water drains.