It is important to understand the different types of pipework. Responsibilities are different with each type of pipe.
"Drain" |
Carries waste and/or surface water directly from one house into a public or private sewer. |
"Sewer" |
Carries waste water and or surface water from two or more houses. |
"Private Sewer" |
Carries waste water and or surface water from two or more houses and was not adopted after 1st October 2011. |
"Public Sewer" |
Carries waste water from two or more properties and was adopted on the 1st October 2011. |
Transfer of Private Sewers
As of 1st October 2011 some private drainage was adopted by South West Water, the diagrams below show the responsibility of the various lengths of pripework before and after the transfer deadline:
[Transfer of private drains]
The diagrams show that not only have shared sewers transferred but also drains which are beyond the curtiledge of a property. Whilst curtiledge has not been clearly defined, guidance from Water UK helps toshow the transfer in more detail.
[pdf icon] Guide to transfer of Private Sewers
Who is responsible?
Drain:
- If you own a house you are responsible to clear and repair the drains, gutters and rain water pipes.
- If you are a tenant the landlord is responsible, but depending on your tenancy agreement, the landlord may pass on the costs to you.
Private Sewer:
- The owners of all the houses using the private sewer are jointly responsible to clear and repair it.
- When there is a blockage or break, the owners of the houses using the pipes up to this point are responsible to clear and repair it. Downstream of the problems, owners of houses are not responsible because their waste does not flow into the pipe at the point of the problem.
Public Sewer:
- The Sewerage Undertaker (SWW Ltd) is responsible to clear and repair all public sewers. They can be contacted on 0800 169 1144, make sure you have a postcode to hand.
What causes a blockage?
Drains and sewers can block for a variety of reasons
- Inappropriate items put down the toilet such as fat, oil, grease, disposable nappies, rags, cement etc. For more information on what you should and should not dispose of please visit South West Water's website.
- Poor design e.g. sharp angles on bends, a very low gradient
- Roots in pipes from trees/shrubs
- Broken/collapsed pipe
What should I do if my drain/sewer is blocked?
- If it is a drain you will need to arrange to clear the blockage yourself. If you have drainage rods you may be able to clear a simple blockage yourself. Otherwise you can employ a drainage engineer to clear the blockage, who can be found in the yellow pages.
- If it is a private sewer that is shared (and has not been adopted), you will need to talk to your neighbours to arrange to get the blockage cleared. There may be some neighbours who will not co-operate in which case you can ring us to ask for more advice.
- If it is a private sewer that serves properties two or more properties then you can call South West Water (0800 169 1144) and ask them to clear it.
Further Information
