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Last revised: 22 April 2008

Please follow this link to make an online enquiry, complaint or report, relating to this service - Drainage and sewers

DRAINAGE
What are drains and sewers?

Drains are single pipelines which convey foul sewage and/or surface water runoff from a single property. A drain is still a drain even if it goes past the boundary of your property and remains so until it joins a sewer.

Sewers are pipelines which 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 which have been adopted as a public sewer or were in use before the 1st 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 which it serves. It may still be a private sewer under the public highway until the point where it joins a public sewer.

Statutory water undertakers

This will depend upon where you live in Kennet, but will be either :

Who is responsible?

It is the responsibility of the owner/occupier to maintain and clear a drain or a 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.

The Council may become involved if…

Private households being served by a drain and/or private sewers are unable or unwilling to resolve a problem. In these cases we may serve a statutory notice on each householder concerned requiring the work to be carried out within a specified timescale. Should the notices not be complied with then the council may carry out the work in default and charge the householders concerned including an amount for administration.

Should access to a property to investigate the problem not be possible or be denied then the council may enter the property at any reasonable time to assess the extent of the problem

The Council has a number of options for service of notice in respect of private drains and sewers using the Public Health Acts, The Building Act and other provisions however legal action may be complicated and can involve additional expense and delay. Such action should not however become necessary where owners are aware of their shared ownership and clearance and repair will be cheaper and quicker if they agree to have the works carried out and share the cost equally amongst themselves.

If you have any queries concerning private drains or sewers then please contact the Housing and Pollution team in the Environmental Health Department on 01380 724911 or email kennet@kennet.gov.uk.

Any queries concerning public sewers should in the first instance be addressed to your statutory water undertaker (i.e.the company to whom you pay your water bill).

Wessex Water sewerage services
Tel : 0845 600 4600
Website : www.wessexwater.co.uk (External link)

Thames Water sewerage services
Tel :0845 920 0800
Website : www.thameswater.co.uk (External link)

Southern Water sewerage services
Tel : 0845 278 0845
Website : www.southernwater.co.uk (External link)