Rainwater drain issue. Who do I contact?

Rusty190

I'm in a mid terraced property on a slight downward slope.
Roof height gutters align with next door neighbours.
Downpipe is on my side of boundary wall therefore takes rainwater from my roof and 1 next door neighbour - other neighbour has his own downpipe.
Drainpipe goes below ground, under small front garden, under front boundary wall and the public footpath and emerges at roadside, between kerbstones,  to drain along side of kerb down to a gully at end of terrace - in theory.
In practice, because the road has been resurfaced over the years, the emerging roadside pipe is mainly below road level and, rather than draining, it acts as a "sink", collecting grit, mud and general debris which slowly, but surely, fills the pipe with c**p and has blocked it in the past.
I have paid, in the past, to have the drain jetted and cleared but it just fills up again.
Is this the water company's responsibility to maintain it properly, or the Council's -as their road resurfacing has essentially caused the issue?

Rusty190

Photo of outlet at roadside.
Plastic pipe is broken as people park their cars on it too.

Section62

Rusty190 said:

Is this the water company's responsibility to maintain it properly, or the Council's -as their road resurfacing has essentially caused the issue?

Unfortunately it is your responsibility.

Because it discharges onto the road rather than into a public sewer then it won't be a public sewer and therefore nothing to do with the water company.

Maintenance of these channels isn't the responsibility of the highway authority, although they do have powers under S163 of the Highways Act 1980 to serve notice on the occupier of premises to require them to "construct or erect and thereafter to maintain such channels".

So if the channel is defective (to the point water flows over the surface of the footway) the council could serve notice on you requiring the pipe to be maintained, but normally have no responsibility to do it themselves.

If you contacted the council you might get lucky and find someone willing to modify it to reflect the changed carriageway level, but legally they don't have to.

The council would only have a responsibility to act if it became dangerous to road users.  In which case, having given you the chance to arrange the work yourself, they could carry out repairs and recover the costs from you.

Rusty190

Are you sure?!!
I ask because the only way, I can see, that this could be fixed satisfactorily, is by raising the drain slightly so that it emerges at road level rather than below it - which would involve digging up the street footpath after my boundary.
That can't be on me surely?
The water is supposed to run down the road but it then goes underground again via a grid.

Section62

Rusty190 said:

Are you sure?!!
I ask because the only way, I can see, that this could be fixed satisfactorily, is by raising the drain slightly so that it emerges at road level rather than below it - which would involve digging up the street footpath after my boundary.
That can't be on me surely?
The water is supposed to run down the road but it then goes underground again via a grid.

Yes, but like I said, if you ask the council you may find they are willing to do it.

If you have to get the work done yourself you'll need to get the council's permission anyway.  They may insist on you using one of their approved contractors.

Alternatively, just keep washing the silt through with a hosepipe - it shouldn't need jetting if you keep the amount of silt down to a reasonable level.

Rusty190

Easier said than done @Section62! 
Terraced house.
Drain concerned at front of house.
No water at front - all taps at rear.
Hosepipe would involve running pipe from garden tap at rear, through dining and sitting room then up UPVC window to top opening window to outside pipe.
I did try a watering can and step ladder but not enough pressure behind it to flush out properly.
Will speak to Council and see what they say - though, I'm not hopeful.

plumb1_2

That’s plastic pipe coming out of the drain, so not very old. They used to have cast iron channels going across footpaths especially from rows of terraced houses. And suspect it’s gradually been tarmac over, as well as the road levels increased. Maybe some worker has pushed up a piece of plastic when the road was done.
  I’d suspect it’s the council’s responsibility as most probably been there since 1895 ?