beware of drain blockage

[Ken]

Hi,

Just to pass on my recent experience regarding a blocked drain. Had a blockage, drain man came out and could'nt shift it. The blockage was out under the road. Southern water came out, they could'nt shift it. They told me it was my responsibility even though it was in the road. I got on to Southern water who assured me it was my problem. I told them that the drain was right under the bus stop out-side my house. They still did'nt want to know. Drain man put a camera down and found collapsed drains under the bus stop, now they have to dig up the road. Luckily my insurance will cover it.

So beware--check whose responsibility your drains are.

ken

[dg]

I would be inclined to run a new pipe from the soil stack etc along the surface and left it discharging onto the public footpath at the end of your property. Then see how long it would take them to come out and fix the drain.

dg

[DIY]

If your insurance company must be as daft as Southern Water.

[Caliban]

My daughter had a very similar experience with Southern Water. They seem to have a policy of trying to fob their customers off, she persisted & they eventually came out & fixed it. They also refunded the money she paid to a private contractor who couldn't clear the blockage.

[Legal]

If the boundary of your property does extend to include the bus stop then the drains are your responsibility and you should be charging the bus company for the use of your property. If the boundary of your property doesn't extend to include the bus stop then the drains are not on your property and therefore are not your responsibility.

[Dave Liquorice]

Unless there is a right in the deeds...

How old are these drains? Google back in here for other information.

[John Laird]

And this posted under the pseudonym of "Legal"...

Your drain is your drain (and thus your responsibility) until it hits a public sewer, within your property or not.

I imagine if the council did a really poor job of maintaining the road and this contributed to a collapse, or someone identifiable ran a 44tonne HGV over the pavement, then you might be able to claim some or all back, but it'd be best left to your insurers anyway. One might hope there's no excess for claims outside the property boundary.

-- "I owe, I owe, it's off to work I go."

[Bob Eager]

They are yours - all the way up to where they join the public sewer (usually in the road). If part of that is used by two or more properties, that part is a shared sewer, and it's the joint responsibility of the owners of the said properties.

The only exception is pre 1937 (ISTR) properties, where shared sewers are the water company's responsibility. You can Google for more details.

[Bob Eager]

In a word - rubbish.

[Owain]

A right in the deeds for the bus company to park their buses wouldn't extend to them having a right to damage the drains.

Owain

[Roger Mills]

Yes, but the bus company isn't using his property, is it? It's using the public highway!

As others have pointed out, a householder's responsibility for the drains doesn't stop at the property boundary - it stops at the public sewer, which may well be outside the boundary.

My house is one of four which are served by private foul and storm drains, both of which join their respective public sewers on my property. I and the other 3 householders are jointly responsible for the *whole* of these private drains.

Another private sewer - which *doesn't* serve any of the immediate 4 properties happens to join the public sewer under my back garden. A few years ago, this needed to be repaired - and the householders further up the road, whose properties *are* served by it, had to pay for the repairs.

[Ken]

Thanks for all you replies. I have received it in writing to-day that the drain is my responsibility until it connects to the sewer. My drain goes under the public footpath and then on under the road where it connects to the sewer. My house is pre 1937 but not a shared drain, so really I am stuffed. I just find it astounding that busses, lorries or whatever can charge up the road, utility companies can dig up to lay their cables but I am responsible if anything goes wrong with the drain.

ken

[Stuart Noble]

Difficult to believe that something under the public footpath can be yours. Presumably they won't mind if you dig it up and have a look.

[Ken]

If only Stuart. To dig it up you have to be a registered contractor with all that entails. I should also make it clear that the camera pictures do show the drain collapsed at about 3 feet into the road.

ken

[Clive George]

Friends had this - tree roots had blocked the drain, and needed it fettling up to the join to the main sewer in the middle of the road (4 lane main road). Fortunately this is covered by insurance. The drain people wanted to dig it all up and replace it cleanly - unfortunately the road had just been resurfaced, so the council told them to bugger off. They had to do it the slow way...

(lessons learned from them : don't just use a famous drainage company - they're likely to be shit (possibly literally :-) ). Find the one the council use.)

cheers, clive

[Stuart Noble]

I was chatting to the contractor replacing the mains water supply outside my son's house the other day. They had everything dug up right up to his front wall i.e. 6 feet of road plus the pavement. He wasn't even told it was going to happen, let alone being asked to pay for it.

I know you've been told in writing, but this just doesn't seem to make any sense. If only the water company is qualified/equipped to do the job, how much do they want to do it? What do your insurance company think?

[sm_jamieson]

Ken, can I just ask how much you paid for the camera survey ? I want to have a look at the public sewer whose inspection manhole is in my back garden. I will be building near it, and need to ensure the water authority cannot blame me for any damage that may be present. I got let of the compulsory camera survey, which would have cost more due to "registered contractors" and "examination fee" (wouldnt you just know it), but I'd still like the pictures filed and peace of mind. Hope you also get some of that soon ! Cheers, Simon.

[John Laird]

Water is the responsibility of the utility company up to their stopcock which is usually very close to the property boundary. Gas and electricity services are of course the responsibility of the company up to their meter.

Drains are different, and enshrined in some Victorian-era law. A drain is private until it hits a public sewer, however far away that is. This is rather unfair on the homeowner as drain owner who of course has no say whatsoever on what goes on by way of excavations, road re-laying, etc. But I would imagine you should be able to bring a civic court case against any party who damaged your drain even though it was lying underneath a public highway. Best be insured, though.

-- "You can tune a guitar, but you cant tuna fish."

[Tony Bryer]

quote £120

quote £175