Blocked drains and sewers

Blocked public sewers are the responsibility of South West Water. Telephone 0800 169 1144 or visit their website.

Private sewers are the responsibility of householders.

For blocked street drains and gullies, please contact us.

If we are asked to clear a blocked drain/sewer please state if the drain is shared as all parties will incur costs and notices will need to be served.

Drains are pipes, which carry waste and surface water from one or more houses. When one drain meets another, it becomes a sewer. These are not the gullies or grids that can be found in the road to take water off the highway.

How do I know if it is my drain that is blocked?

If your drain is blocked you will usually know because your waste will stop going away when you flush the toilet, or gullies outside will overflow. There will also probably be a smell. Private drains/sewers are the responsibility of the owner-occupier and any other properties connected to it.

Is it a drain, a public sewer or a private sewer?

If the property is built before 1 October 1937, and so long as there are two or more properties connected to the length of drain/sewer affected, it is the responsibility of South West Water to clear.

For properties built after 1 October 1937, all drains and sewers are the responsibility of the owners/occupiers and any other properties connected to it, unless it is a main public sewer, which has been adopted by South West Water.

Who is responsible?

It is the responsibility of the owner-occupier to maintain and clear a private drain or private sewer. If the property is rented then it is the owner's responsibility. If you live in a row of houses then the problem could be a shared one between all properties connected to the private sewer.

Significant changes to the responsibility of private owners and South West Water introduced on 1 October 2011.

From 1 October 2011, all private sewers and lateral drains that connect to the public foul sewer system will transfer into the ownership of the local water and sewerage company - which in Plymouth's case is South West Water.

This would remove the burden of maintenance and repair from householders and allow for a more integrated sewerage network. The cost of these additional responsibilities for South West Water would be funded by an increase in the Sewerage Charge.

The new arrangements are shown by reference to the following diagram. In future the houseowner would only be responsible for blockages and repairs on the blue (thin) line - that is, to a private drain within the boundary of the particular property which that pipe serves. A blockage on sewers and laterals outside of the property boundary (ie anywhere on a thick red line on the diagram below) would be the responsibility of South West Water Water. The age of the property (before or after 1936) would be irrelevant under the new arrangements.

Further information is available on the South West Water website on their private sewer transfer pages.

Enforcing statutory drainage legislation

We have a statutory duty in the interests of public health to ensure that blocked/foul smelling private drains are cleared and, where appropriate, to recharge the householders for this service. Any recharge is apportioned equally to all households feeding into the sewer up to the point that it is blocked and follows the serving of a notice.

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