If you're a homeowner connected to the public sewer system, you might not think about it often, but you have to pay for this service. You're also responsible for anything that your property sends into the wastewater network. However, the infrastructure of the network is usually managed by different local organisations.
When it comes to blocked sewer drains, determining who is responsible for fixing the issue can depend on several factors. Here, we’ll break down those details for you
The public sewer system in your area is managed by several organisations: your water and sewerage company (WaSC), the UK’s Highways Agency, and your local authority. You help fund this system through your water rates and the taxes you pay to the government.
If you’re not sure who your local WaSC is, you can easily find out by searching at Water UK.
It's important to note that if you live in a private residence connected to the public sewers, some of the pipes that connect your home to the system are your responsibility. This means you might need to cover costs for repairs and maintenance of those pipes.
The responsibility for blocked sewer drains depends on various factors, including the location of the pipes, land ownership, and the properties they serve. Thankfully, regulations enacted in 2011 made it much easier to ascertain who is responsible for which part of the drains. Homeowners are responsible only for private drains within their property boundaries, and not for shared or public sewers.
Discover more about the 2011 legislation and who is responsible for private drains and sewers in our article, 'Private drains and sewers'.
If a blockage is caused by an issue with your drains, such as connecting foul and surface water drains incorrectly or disposing of items that lead to a blockage, you may still be held responsible. To prevent problems, it’s important to develop good habits for caring for your drains.
Find out what you shouldn't put down the drain and the UK's attitudes on drainage usage in our drainage habits survey.
If you become aware that a sewer drain servicing your property is blocked, you should contact your WaSC and report the blockage. This applies even in cases where you are unsure whether the blockage is within the private drain that is your responsibility, or within the public sewer or lateral drain. The WaSC will be able to survey the sewers and drains to determine the source of the problem, and advise you of whether or not it is your responsibility to remove the blockage.
Under the Water Industry (Schemes for Adoption of Private Sewers) Regulations 2011, homeowners have the authority to commission surveys or work to remove blockages from private drains but not public ones, meaning that if you are unsure, it is the safest option to contact your WaSC. If you do intend to commission work to clear the blockage, you will usually need the WaSC’s permission and guidance on how to proceed anyway, so it is advisable to contact them in the first instance.
Typically, the actions of careless homeowners are far more likely to block private drains than they are to block public sewers, but learning how to adopt good habits and take care of your drains can avoid the risk of these problems arising in either case.
One of the most important things to consider is how you dispose of fat, oil and grease (FOG) and food scraps. These substances are easy to pour down the sink in their hot, liquid form, but they will quickly cool and solidify in your pipes. FOG can combine with small, solid food scraps and other products that are inappropriately poured or flushed down drains – such as wet wipes, sanitary products and other items – to create serious and stubborn blockages.
Even if these items do not block your pipes, they can congeal in the sewers and create huge fatbergs that are capable of blocking even large sewer pipes. Lanes has lots of experience tackling fatbergs, which solidify and need to be broken up by water jets before they can be removed. The improper disposal of FOG that causes fatbergs is also responsible for a huge percentage of floods throughout the UK.
Find out how to properly dispose of FOG in our article ‘How to dispose of cooking oil in the UK’.
At Lanes, our experience in tackling fatbergs and other sewer blockages means that we can tackle any challenge, whether large or small. If you are unsure about the nature or location of a blockage, we can provide CCTV drain surveys and other services to help.
We can also tackle blockages of all sizes, including fatbergs and in-growing roots, with our state-of-the-art jet vacuumation services, and send waste to an Environment Agency-licensed waste collector to prevent it from causing further problems in the system.
To arrange a CCTV drain survey to inspect a blockage, or to have a blockage removed from private drains, call Lanes Drainage Services UK on 0800 526 488, or use our online enquiry form and we will call you back.