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Drains and Sewers Explained

What is a drain?
A drain is a pipe, which takes foul or surface water from one house only and conveys it to a private or public sewer.

It is the owner or occupier of the house affected by a blocked drain who is solely responsible for its maintenance. This applies even where the drain extends beyond the boundary of that property. The responsibility remains the same right up until it physically joins the main public sewer, where it becomes Thames Water's responsibility or a private sewer, where it becomes a joint private responsibility.

This means that a private drain may run under the road, the public footpath or even neighbouring properties.

What is a sewer?
A sewer is a pipe, which takes foul or surface water from more than one house. It may be either privately owned or known as a Public Sewer.

Public Sewer
A Public sewer is a sewer that for the time being has been adopted by the Sewerage Undertaker. In this area that is Thames Water Utilities. Such sewers usually run under the highway but could in fact be found almost anywhere. Both the Council and the Water Authority hold copies of the Public Sewer plans.

A blockage in the Public sewer system should be reported to Thames Water Customer Services Department on 08459 200 800.

Private Sewer
A private sewer is the joint responsibility of all the owners or occupiers of the houses that it serves. Those upstream from a point
of defect or blockage are all equally responsible for its maintenance, repair or clearance.

What must I do if I discover a blockage in my private drain or sewer?
It must be cleared as soon as possible.

If you wish the Council can offer a service and to discover what the current charges are please contact 01276 707 100. However, please note, that this service is for very basic clearances only and the charges can vary immensely if the blockage proves stubborn and/or the contractor has to employ specialist plant and/or equipment.

Where several houses are affected by a blockage in a private sewer you should endeavour to agree to share the costs with each other householder affected. If you are either unable or unwilling to clear a blockage yourself or your neighbours are unwilling to share the costs of a clearance the Council can serve a notice on all the householders affected requiring them to have the blockage cleared. If after a minimum time period of 48hrs has elapsed and the blockage remains, the Council can legally have it cleared and charge each of the owners a proportion of the cost.

The Council is not responsible for any sewers or drains, other than those which serve the municipal buildings.

What should I do if I rent my home?
If your home is rented you should initially contact your landlord. Just what your landlord will do about the blockage will depend on what type of tenancy agreement you have. If your landlord refuses to clear the blockage it will be your private responsibility.

Employing Private Contractors
Should you decide not to use the Council's drain clearance service you can find a large number of private contractors listed in the
"Yellow Pages", "Thompson Local" or local newspapers. Before employing a local tradesman however always obtain quotes
and where possible more than one.

What if the drain or sewer is broken or damaged somehow, that requires a repair?
Largely the same principles apply however in the case of accidental damage your household insurance should cover the costs
of repair. If in doubt you should contact your insurance company to check.

What will happen if the blockage or repairs are not dealt with?
All Local Authorities have powers vested in them under a variety of Acts of Parliament, which enable them to require owners of
private sewers and drains to clear or repair them as appropriate. This would take the form of a formal legal notice and failure to
comply with the conditions of such a notice would be an offence.

This could ultimately lead to prosecution or more usually in line with current Council policy the works may be carried out in default
of the notice and the costs recovered from those responsible.