What to do when you have a problem

Usually most drainage problems are a simple, one-off blockage that once cleared, will cause no further problems.  Dependant on the responsibility the following course of action are suggested:

 

If you have a blocked drain, which is the responsibility of the owner of the property, you may wish to try and unblock the drain yourself. A set of drain rods will usually be sufficient to clear the blockage and these can be hired from tool hire shops. If you do decide to do this yourself you need to be careful that you do not damage the pipes in any way. Also you should be careful when lifting a chamber cover as they can be quite heavy.

 

Alternatively, you may prefer to pay someone to do the works for you. You can find specialist firms in the Yellow Pages, look under Drain and Pipe Cleaning or Plumbers.

 

The advice is the same for a blocked private sewer but the cost of the required work should be shared equally between all of the households that drain into the affected part of the sewer (i.e. upstream of the problem). If you are unsure then it may be possible for our officers to identify which properties are involved with the blockage. 

 

However our Officers do not have the ability to lift chamber covers and can only advise based on assumptions made on site.  As drainage runs are impossible to determine without detailed plans or investigation we can only provide general advice.

 

You can request that Severn Trent adopt a private sewer.  This will not help for the current blockage or problem but it may help in the future.

 

If the blocked pipe or problem is originating from a public sewer then contact Severn Trent (0800 783 4444) who will clear the blockage free of charge.

 

Should sewage be overflowing and it is reported to the Council then an officer will contact you within 1 working day. (Please note we do not provide a service at weekends or bank holidays)  The Officer will assess the condition of the discharge and take appropriate action.  This may include providing advice and arranging to serve notices on appropriate parties.

 

If there is a substantial risk to the environment, property or health, then the Council may take emergency action (with or without the agreement of owners) however we would seek to charge the relevant parties for such action.

 

This may be due to unsuitable items being flushed into it, such as disposable nappies, sanitary towels or large amounts of grease. Do not put these items down the pipe. Also, it may be due to a defect in the pipe work such as a collapsed pipe, bad joint, tree roots growing in the pipe etc. If this is the case it is likely that the affected area of pipe work may have to be dug up and re-laid. This can be expensive but may be covered by your house building insurance.

 

You may wish to have a CCTV camera survey carried out of the affected pipe work to identify the location and nature of the problem. There are specialist companies who can do this for you and again, your house building insurance may cover the cost.