It is the responsibility of the owner/occupier to maintain and clear a drain or private sewer. If the property is rented then the responsibility will normally rest with the landlord. If you live in a row of houses served by a private sewer then this responsibility is shared equally between all the households served by the sewer. Should the sewer be affected by a blockage then it will be the equal responsibility of all those occupiers up from the blockage to carry out any works to clear the sewer.

Drains are single pipelines that convey foul sewage and/or surface water runoff from a single property. A drain is still a drain even it if goes past the boundary of your property and remains so until it joins a sewer. Sewers are pipelines that normally convey foul sewage and/or surface water runoff from more than one property. Sewers may be either private or public sewers.

Public sewers are sewers that have been adopted as a public sewer or were in use before the 1^st October 1937 and are the responsibility of the statutory water undertaker.

Private sewers are sewers that are not public sewers and as such are normally the responsibility of the owners of the properties for which it serves. It may still be a private sewer under the public highway until the point where it joins a public sewer. In the event of a dispute regarding ownership and responsibility for these private sewers, the Environmental Health department can assist by serving statutory notices to aid resolution of such disputes. Please contact 01249 706111.

The statutory water undertakers are:

If you require any information on fat traps or septic tanks, please click on the link below: