Blocked drain between two semis - who's responsible

muffinek

I live in Victorian-semi. I just opened a drain which is located between my house and our neighbour and noticed quite a bit of standing water there. The drain is located on side access to our gardens.  I am trying to establish whether it is water company or ours responsibility to get it cleared. 

I can't figure out from online search. Any suggestions?

elsien

Might help if you put a picture/plan up.
I live in a terrace where the drains and water run down the side access and round the back with each house connecting to a communal supply: the water board responsibility ends at the pavement. 

Sandtree

If more than one property's waste is flowing through it then its the water company, if its just one property and inside the bounds of the property then its the property's owner

[Deleted User]

United utilities will sort it. They are usually very prompt with this sort of thing. 

muffinek

That's the photo. Not sure how many properties are connected. Been on hold to water company for over an hour and just not sure whether I am wasting my time or not. 

Carrot007

muffinek said:

That's the photo. Not sure how many properties are connected. Been on hold to water company for over an hour and just not sure whether I am wasting my time or not. 

Pulling up the cover and taking a look down would show how many properties involved and the resposibility.

Only time it get s a pain is when you are at the end and a blockage next door is causing you issues (has to be after pipes from next door or it is still your responsibility. I had that but is was council/HA so the camera footage got them to it.

muffinek

I pulled it up but there is standing water pretty high there already so can't really see anything. 

Rosa_Damascena

muffinek said:

I pulled it up but there is standing water pretty high there already so can't really see anything. 

Did you get anywhere with the utility company?

poppellerant

Sometimes it just needs a bit of pressure to get rid of the blockage.  What I would do is fill a kitchen bin full of hot water and bleach, then quickly pour the lot down the manhole.  It might not shift straight away, but the sudden pressure might be enough to do the job.

muffinek

Rosa_Damascena said:

muffinek said:

I pulled it up but there is standing water pretty high there already so can't really see anything. 

Did you get anywhere with the utility company?

I did, they logged the incident and said they need to come and assess liability. I wasn't at home when they came but they put a card thru the letterbox saying they fixed the issue and they did indeed. Don't know what caused the blockage but at least I know solution for going forward. 

Sandtree

muffinek said:

Rosa_Damascena said:

muffinek said:

I pulled it up but there is standing water pretty high there already so can't really see anything. 

Did you get anywhere with the utility company?

I did, they logged the incident and said they need to come and assess liability. I wasn't at home when they came but they put a card thru the letterbox saying they fixed the issue and they did indeed. Don't know what caused the blockage but at least I know solution for going forward. 

They probably won't either.... for a one off blockage its just a case of rodding it. If you have continuous problems then they use cameras etc to see if you've got tree roots or some other problem.