Drainage

What is the difference between a drain and a sewer?

• A drain serves only one property.
• A sewer serves more than one property and may be private or public.
• When two drains join, the pipe becomes a sewer.

Whose Responsibility is it?

It is a common misconception that Councils are responsible for maintaining drains and sewers. Apart from some drainage on council estate, all drains and sewers are either privately owned by the owners of the properties they serve or, for most pre-1937 drainage, are the responsibility of the Statutory Undertaker (United Utilties).

Generally, owners of private properties built after October 1937 are responsible for their own drains until it reaches either a public or private sewer, even if the drain extends outside the boundary of their property.

Upon the point of connection of the drain to a public sewer the responsiblity becomes that of United Utilities. This can be complex where these drains connect into a private sewer serving more than one property. Where this is the case, all the properties above the blockage that connect into this private sewer will be jointly responsible for sharing the cost of the problem. If as a house owner you are unaware as to whether you are on a private drain or sewer, then you should check with either United Utilities or Cheshire East Building Control Service prior to calling out a contractor.

Further Investigation

Resolving issues relating to drains and sewers can often be time consuming, as it is not always clear what the cause of the problem is. It can also be frustrating for homeowners who cannot gain full co-operation from all those who are responsible. The Council has powers to intervene where there is a defect in a private drain or sewer which is not being dealt with by those responsible. The Council can serve legal notices and carry out works in default if necessary, insome cases CCTV surveys of the pipes are required to determine the extent of the problem or defect.  In such cases the Council will not only charge for the cost of works but will also recover administration costs, therefore this method of actioning works should be considered by the homeowners as a last resort.

Prevention of Blockages

In order to reduce the number of blockages that occur in the first place, care should be taken with what items are actually pushed, poured or flushed down a drain or sewer. The following items should never be put down a drain:

• cement, rubble, concrete, stones, bricks;
• fats & greases, engine oil, chemicals;
• hand or baby wipes (inclucing toilet training wipes for toddlers), sanitary products, nappies, cotton buds;
• newspapers, magazines, other bulky items.

Highway Gullies

These are designed to take surface water from roads and back streets. they are not designed to take foul water. Any problems relating to these drains, i.e. that they are blocked, overflowing or giving off odours, should be reported to the Highways department.

Polluted ditches or watercourses

Polluted ditches or watercourses should be reported to the Environment Agency incident desk on 0800 807060 (Freephone, 24 hour service). 

Useful Contacts

• 0845 746 2200 or visit the United Utilities website
• 0845 002 0666
• 08708 506506 (Mon-Fri, 8am-6pm)

The Council cannot enforce United Utilities to maintain public sewers. However they do have their own complaints procedure. If you are still unhappy with their response you can contact WaterVoice or OFWAT.

Drainage Issues (PDF, 205KB)

Please note that the Council no longer offers a drain-clearing service.