Blocked drain

Section62

njkmr said:

You may find that in a row of terrace houses with the drains starting at one end and serving all the row, and the problem , blockage is under one the terrace house front garden then they will tell you it's the home owners responsibility as it's on the house owners land. It has not actually reached the main sewer so it's up to the house owner.
Had that with my mother's house.

They might say that, but if the pipe goes to a public sewer then it will be a public sewer for all but the first property on the run, and the 'public' length is the water company's responsibility.

InhaleMood

Section62 said:

InhaleMood said:

Section62 said:

InhaleMood said:

I'm not sure if this explains it better. The manhole (in blue) is the one that is blocked. It drains to us and to the front of the property I believe.

So where is the blockage?  If it is on your side of the fence then it would be your responsibility.  But you could complain to the water company if the cause is your neighbour's waste 'backing up' into your pipe.

Does the outlet pipe from the manhole flow freely, or is there water standing in the manhole?

The blockage is in the manhole not on our side and water is not moving freely.
I guess it's probably easiest to call Severn Trent and hope they are helpful

So if the manhole drains to a public sewer then it will be ST's responsibility - the blockage is likely to be downstream of the manhole before it enters the main sewer in the street.

You don't need to wait until Tuesday to call them - they will have a 24hour line to report blockages.

Thank you, appreciate the advice. It's smelly but not urgent so I'll either call tomorrow or Tuesday.