Drainage

Blocked sewers and drains can cause problems, and the council receives thousands of calls each year of requests to investigate blockages.

To make matters worse, the ownership of drains (and therefore who is responsible for clearing blockages etc.) frequently causes confusion. Generally, whoever uses a private drain or private sewer is responsible for its maintenance and repair, unless the sewer is a public sewer, where it is Thames Waters responsibility. The Council can help to identify where the responsibility lies and has legal powers to require unblocking of drains and remediation of drainage defects.

What is a private drain or sewer?

Drains and sewers are the pipes that carry foul waste and/or surface water away from one or more houses. A private drain serves only one property, whereas a private sewer serves more than one property. It is the responsibility of the users of the drain to maintain and repair them. A sewer or drain remains ‘private’ until it joins a public sewer. This means that your private sewer may run through your neighbour’s property or out into the road. Your responsibility therefore does not necessarily stop at the end of your garden! 

Public sewers are the responsibility of Thames Water. For problems with public sewers telephone United Utilities on 08459 200800. Thames Water is also responsible for private sewers built before 1936.

Septic tanks and Package sewage treatment plants

In rural areas without main sewers, most properties are served by sewage treatment plants (STP’s) or cesspools. The responsibility for emptying and repairing STP’s and cesspools always rests with the owner or occupier of the property. To arrange emptying of septic tanks you may want to consider the advertisers in Yellow Pages under sewage consultants.

You must not allow the effluent from your STP to flow into a ditch or watercourse without discharge consent. If you think that this is happening, we can help you to identify the source problems by arranging a tracer dye test, and provide further information on what to do next.

What can be done if there is a drainage problem?

The first step is to identify what and where the problem is. In some circumstances it can be quite difficult to identify the problem without excavating or using drainage cameras. It may help to know if your neighbours also have drainage problems. Checking the manholes serving your neighbours’ drains with their permission may help to identify the scale of the problem.

If the problem is on a private drain this will be your responsibility.

Everyone who shared a private sewer has a joint responsibility for unblocking and maintaining it.

How can we help?

Environmental Health can offer advice about the problem and help to identify the legal responsibilities.

 Once this has been done your options are:

• Carry out the work yourself; if there is a shared responsibility you could contact your neighbours and arrange jointly for work to be carried out;
• The Council can arrange for the work to be done and recover the cost from those responsible for unblocking or maintaining the drainage system. This option will normally entail the Council serving a legal notice on the occupiers affected. In addition to the cost of the work, the Council will usually also charge an administration fee.