drainage problems

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Leicester
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United Kingdom
hi all.
here is my problem!
there are 5 houses in question, 9, 10,11,12,14.
my neighbour @ 9 is the end of the sewer, they had sewage coming up through there down stair shower, so they called the council to rod the drain! there is a man hole in 9,10 and 14,... the blockage was cleared, but they are saying that there may be damage to the pipe between 11 and 12 around the fence line, they have now told 9,10,11 and 12 that we have to have a cctv survey with only 6 days notice or they will send there contractors to do it, and charge us..
does any one know if they can inforce this? they say that this is private drainage and not public! but i have been adviced that private is classed up to the main run( the t peace)
thanks :confused:
 
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Yes they can enforce it. Environmental Health will get (or sounds like already are) involved, as someone has sewage inside the property.

If all parties who use the sewer can get together and agree a plan of action to establish the cause of the blockage, and any remedial action necessary then the council are likely to step back and let you get on with it. If you cant agree amongst yourselves, then Environmental Health are entitled to serve a 48hour notice on every property concerned of their intentions, i.e. getting necessary works done then billing you all accordingly.

You're lucky I think you are getting 6 days notice! A 48hr notice is basically that, if no action is taken within 48hrs of issuing the notice by occupiers concerned then Environmental Health will engage contractors to complete the necessary works. The cost is divided between the occupiers concerned, council only acts as referee.

As a private sewer all parties using the run have an obligation towards the cost of maintenance and repair, where the sewer serves more than 1 property, sections that only serve your property are totally your responsibility. Once it enters the public sewer it then becomes sewerage providers domain,if you are in Leicester I imagine that would be Severn Trent.

The only exceptions are shared drains laid prior to October 1937, when the Public Helath Act changed the rules. If your system was laid prior to that date the shared sections are also the responsibility of the sewerage provider, although they dont like admitting to it! Anglian Water certainly dont!
 
thank you for that! im currently in northampton, so its anglian water! thankfully im in rented accomadation so im not paying sod all! i feel for the others on the run! ;)
 
I think only people up line of the problem are liable for the drain :?:
 
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It would be all properties upstream of the problem that are liable for any cost incurred due to an issue with the system.

I believe it can get complicated when there are a number affected, those at the head of the run may be unaware their discharge is causing problems downstream. Environmental health were involved on a job I attended once, approx 35 properties upstream of what was believed to be a collapsed sewer, about 3m deep at point of blockage. Sewage was erupting from a manhole in a driveway and flowing down the road.

Environmental Health said each property was to be served a 48hr notice and billed according to the amount of the drain they used. Anglian Water had tried jetting it and failed to shift the obstruction. We pumped the system out, then managed to clear it with rods...

However if you're in rented accomodation then its the landlords problem! My house is Victorian so Anglian Water's problem!

(As an aside, it is worth checking your buildings insurance covers drainage issues, I know of a whole estates where for some reason the main sewers were not adopted. No-one realises until serious problems arise, and the sewerage undertaker says, "Sorry, system is not adopted, so not our problem." Again, Environmental Health would get involved, but 48hr notices on a bill of potentially millions is a potential nightmare.....)
 

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