Blocked Drains - can you help?

bgirl1234

Hi all, wondering if anyone can help me with this...

For the past couple of weeks I've been having problems with the drains around my house. It all started with my toilet bubbling at random times, especially when I have a shower. A few days later I noticed a weird smell outside of the house and saw that a shared drain down a passageway that leads to approx 15 other houses was blocked and seriously overflowing. Then the water level in my toilet started rising and falling and I'm hearing gurgles from plug holes. At the moment the toilet water is rising really high whenever it is flushed and takes a long time to go down. There is a manhole (inspection chamber) in my back yard and water is also flowing out of this and the sink/bathroom drains are also very, very high and overflowing.

I called in the local water board as it is an old house and now they have responsibility for private drains if your house was built before 1936. They sent down a van and he said he couldn't unblock it and that a tanker was needed. A tanker came down and he said he was hitting something solid and couldn't do anything until the next day. He came back a few days later and said he needed to clear a Buchan Trap down the road. The problem is still not fixed, it has being going on for weeks and I'm besides myself. One of my neighbours also came out when the tanker was here and said she was having a similar problem. I don't really know any of the other neighbours so I don't know if they're having problems (although I'm sure they all noticed the overflowing drain down the passageway - it stank!).

Has anyone got an idea what this could be? The water board or the sub-contractors with the tank are not updating me on the situation. Each time i ask them what the problem is they say they're sending a tanker out but they don't give me information and the last couple of times it's come I've been at work (if, in fact it actually came). Is this a wider water board problem in the local area - or do I need to call out a plumber / dynorod? Currently I'm still having problems with bubbling, high toilet water levels and overflowing manhole/drains but the shared drain in the passageway has stopped overflowing for the moment.

Any advice appreciated as I don't want to spend money I don't need to if in fact this is a problem for the water board to fix.

Thanks!

macman

There is no water board-they were abolished decades ago. Who is your local supplier? The sewers are the responsibility of the local supplier, and not a job that a private contractor can touch,
Since it's a potential public health issue, why don't you contact your local councillor and the EHO? And since it seems that quite a few houses are affected, why not use the opportunity to meet some of your neighbours while making enquiries
This assumes that the problem is not in your own supply down to the common sewer, which is still your own responsibility.

bgirl1234

It's Yorkshire Water. They've been trying to help but I guess it's the contractor that isn't fixing it. I can't get hold of them today with it being Sunday but I'm going to call them again tomorrow before getting anyone else involved. I'm worried about making too much of a fuss though in case it is a problem with my own supply. I really don't want to call someone in (and pay the money) unless I know it's my problem.

It's pointless getting to know the neighbours around here, many of them are rental properties to students / short-term lets etc who change every year. It would be the landlords who I'd need to get to know.

Thanks for your help.

anotherbaldrick

Send a log of the situation to Yorkshire Water and state that if they do not sort the problem in the next 10 days you will call in a contactor and deduct his charge from the next YW bill. That will bring the pains on.

bgirl1234

Thanks - I am keeping a record and will contact Yorkshire Water again tomorrow. I just wondered if anyone else had any experience of the problems I've described. Thanks.

Russe11

bgirl1234 wrote: »

n tomorrow before getting anyone else involved. I'm worried about making too much of a fuss though in case it is a problem with my own supply.

you need to be making as many noises in as many places as possible until you see action being taken.

I would notify every possible department that it concerns first thing on monday morning.

Waiting around for action to happen will just prolong the problem.

Russe11

anotherbaldrick wrote: »

Send a log of the situation to Yorkshire Water and state that if they do not sort the problem in the next 10 days you will call in a contactor and deduct his charge from the next YW bill. That will bring the pains on.

I wouldn't give them 10 days, being sewerage action should be taken immediately, for non emergencies the situation should be examined within 48 hours and any work started within the following 5 days.

macman

If at least one other property is affected then it's an issue on the (shared) public sewer.
Why does the fact that it might be a student house preclude you from knocking on the doors and asking if their drains are blocked?
I've already suggested that you contact your local councillor and the EHO if YW are proving tardy. Or even the local paper.

bgirl1234

I have made quite a lot of noise about it already. The main issue is that the contractor does not inform Yorkshire Water of the situation - every time I call Yorkshire Water all they know is that a tanker has been sent down and the dates that it's been here. This is a massive flaw in their system, they don't log what the problem is or whether it has been satisfactorily completed. They know nothing about it so every time I call I'm back at square 1.

I've tried calling the contractor direct too but again I get no information. The only info I've ever got is when I had a week off work the other week and I was here when they carried out some work so I spoke with them direct. Like I said, I'm worried that this may be a problem with just my house but I'm not sure (although it will have coincided with a bigger problem as the shared drain was overflowing). I'm a young girl so I'm completely inexperienced when it comes to sewers etc and I can't work out why they keep sending tankers down but it still isn't fixed!

bgirl1234

macman wrote: »

If at least one other property is affected then it's an issue on the (shared) public sewer.
Why does the fact that it might be a student house preclude you from knocking on the doors and asking if their drains are blocked?
I've already suggested that you contact your local councillor and the EHO if YW are proving tardy. Or even the local paper.

Honestly, people have very little care about the upkeep of their houses around here! I went abroad for a week the day that the problem first started and came back and the passageway was still overflowing with raw sewerage! I even heard people commenting about jt outside the house but they did nothing - I'm the only person that has cared to do anything about it. I can't contact the paper for various reasons because of the job that I do.