Problems with a drain

[yan 10]

Hi.

We have a manhole cover on our back garden on the path right outside our back door.

A few months ago the drain blocked and there was raw sewerage all over the path and the neighbours path too.

We unblocked the drain with rods and bought a jet wash and cleaned it all up and it took hours.

Due to the rain it's happeded again. Yesterday I called Yorkshire water who told me it wasn't their problem and to call Sheffield council, which I did to be told it wasn't their problem either and to ring Yorkshire water again. I called YW and they told me the same thing and asked me to call environmental health.

A guy came out yest and looked at the drain and has left me a note to say he has to serve legal papers on Monday??? Does anybody know what he means by this?

Anyway the EVH man said that it's not our drain as our sewerage drain is on the front and that the drain belongs to a house on the road behind us, up the hill. He's asked us to unblock the drain before Monday but I've just gone out into the garden and there is sewerage on the garden again. I have a small baby and I have to walk through this stuff to get out of my house.

Surely if it's not our drain I shouldn't be cleaning it up anyway?

The EVH guy also mentioned because our kitchen sink and dishwasher drains into this drain we have to clean it up and are responsible for it. And because the manhole cover is in our garden, even though it's not our drain we are responsible for the cleaning of anybody elses garden it affects. There are 4 houses in our block and the drain runs from the house at the back of ours, into our garden and under the next 3 houses, then 4 doors down there is another drain cover, this is where the responsibility is taken over by somebody else.

I just don't see how I can have responsibility of cleaning up somebody elses s**t?

Surely if the drain is flloding into our garden then it is blocked further down the Rd, therefore it's where the blockage occurs that that person takes responibility OR it's the person who the sewerage pipe belongs to as like I said the four houses on our block only drain kitchen water into it.

Is there anybody that's up on these things that can advise me?

[neeeeeeeeeek 10]

I had loads of problems when my drain was blocked. Rocky on here was a star and gave it his best shot but could not clear it but he knows a guy with the pressure jet hoses and stuff, might be worth PM'ing him as I can't remember the other guys name or number.

The council are not interested and say it's the waterboards responsibility, which it may be, but it may not! It depends on the use of the house and some other details I can't remember. End result was I argue with the water board for 2 years while the sewer overflows, or I pay someone to fix it! I opted for the second aproach!! £50 I think, best money I ever spent!

[yan 10]

Thank you for your advice.

I really need to know where I stand with responsibility though. I'm not being tight but I'm really broke at the min so don't want to be paying £50 out for a drain that's not mine.

I don't know which house this drain comes from although the EVH said they will tell me, I don't really want to go and ask the owners to cough up either...but if we share responsibility the we could both contribute I guess.

[neeeeeeeeeek 10]

I was under the impression that shared drains are the responsibility of the water company so if other houses up the road feed into your drain and then onwards into the main sewer then they should be responsible for it. My property is half of what they said was a single property so they are not responsoible for it, no other houses share the sewer and at the time of construction it was a single house. I was not in a position to argue with them for months so got it sorted. If you live in a row of houses then I think they should sort it out but I am not 100% sure. I got the impression they would try and get out of it if they could.

[depoix 11]

if you have had the rods down it then its blocked on someone elses property,hence the need for legal papers to be served so they can gain admittance to the other sewer grate, if its not done call the enviromental health and tell them you have raw sewage in your yard

[yan 10]

if you have had the rods down it then its blocked on someone elses property,hence the need for legal papers to be served so they can gain admittance to the other sewer grate, if its not done call the enviromental health and tell them you have raw sewage in your yard

 

I have called environmental health...yesterday, that's who's serving the leagl papers but they have told me to clear the drain:(

[neeeeeeeeeek 10]

What did the water board say? If it's a shared drain I thin it's their responsibility have you called them>?

[rocky1 10]

sent you a pm

[yan 10]

What did the water board say? If it's a shared drain I thin it's their responsibility have you called them>?

 

water board said it's not their drain and they don't deal with sewerage.

[depoix 11]

I have called environmental health...yesterday, that's who's serving the leagl papers but they have told me to clear the drain:(

try a couple of boxes of caustic soda in hot water,but wear gloves and glasses before mixing it, i still think its down to the health department if you have raw sewage backing up onto your property though..maybe a letter to the star might get some one off their backsides

[Strix 11]

I was under the impression that shared drains are the responsibility of the water company so if other houses up the road feed into your drain and then onwards into the main sewer then they should be responsible for it.

This was certainly the case when we had an ongoing similar problem in a house in Doncaster. Next door fed into the drain that passed through our property, so when it blocked (every two-three years) it was the waterboard that was responsible for clearing it out

 

If you have any form of household insurance, you will have access to a free legal advice line, so I suggest you phone them

 

at the very least, rod the drain, but note how much rod it takes to locate the problem, and that should give you a measure of where the blockage is, so you can knock on their door

 

unfortunately, just because the blockage occurs on their property, doesn't mean the obstruction was caused by them (like if some twerp is flushing baby nappies for instance), so I'm assuming this is why shared drains are usually a waterboard problem

[Strix 11]

try a couple of boxes of caustic soda in hot water,but wear gloves and glasses before mixing it, i still think its down to the health department if you have raw sewage backing up onto your property though..maybe a letter to the star might get some one off their backsides

No professional would thank you for unsuccessful chemical attempts at drain clearing. If your attempts are futile, there's a high risk of them suffering when they come to rod or pressure hose it out