Drainage and Sewage

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We are not responsible for maintaining  drains and sewers from some drainage on council estates.

Drains and sewers are either privately owned by the owners of the houses they serve or, for most drainage constructed prior to 1938, are the responsibility of the Statutory Undertaker. In Kingston that is Thames Water Utilities plc.

A blocked drain or sewer is most noticeable when foul water or sewage is seeping out of waste gulleys or manhole covers. It may cause sinks or toilets to block within a property itself.

• Drains may block because they are in poor physical condition and normal contents are not being cleared.
• They may be in satisfactory condition but have been abused by flushing away disposable nappies or other items such as plastic bags that should never be placed into the sewerage system.
• Excessive disposal of cooking fats and oils, along with other domestic products and DIY materials such as plaster, can cause severe scaling  and reduce the bore of the pipework. This will result in more frequent blockage.
• Tree roots entering a broken drain can also be a problem.

Most works affecting private drains and sewers will require Building Regulation approval from the Council’s Building Control Department.  Any works affecting a public sewer will also need the permission of Thames Water Utilities plc.

Firstly, some definitions:-

• Drain: a single pipe which removes sewage or rainwater from one premises and any associated buildings. A drain is still a drain even if it goes past the boundary of your property until it joins a sewer.
• Sewer: a pipe taking sewage or rainwater from two or more premises. Sewers may  be either Public or Private
• Public Sewer: a sewer which has been adopted as a public sewer or was built before the 1 October 1937 and is therefore the responsibility of the Statutory Undertaker
• Private Sewer: where the sewer was constructed after 1st October 1937 it is a private sewer. A private sewer its maintenaince is normally the responsibility of the owner/s of the property which it serves. It continues to be a private sewer under until it joins the public sewer, even if this is not on the owners' land (eg under the public highway).
• Statutory Undertaker: in Kingston it is Thames Water Utilities plc

As a general rule, houses that have been constructed after 1 October 1937 are served by Private Sewers. However, in limited cases, some may have been adopted by the Statutory Undertaker, in which case they become Public Sewers. There are also some rare examples of older drainage that was not adopted and remains privately owned. Thames Water Utilities plc keeps maps, which show all Public Sewers, but maps of Private Drains and Sewers held by the Council are often incomplete and unreliable as they normally relate to proposed developments rather than completed schemes.

Sometimes deeds or plans of properties may contain information relating to the layout of drains or private sewers. Drainage is very often omitted by the buyer’s surveyor when purchasing property  It is a good idea to insist on obtaining as much information as you can regarding condition and ownership or drainage when you are buying a house.

Please see the diagram at the bottom of this page to determine who is responsible  of pipework and clearance of blockages.

• All pipework draining a single property is a private drain and its maintenance is the responsibility of the owner of that house.
• For houses built before 1 October 1937 all pipework serving more than one property will normally be a public sewer maintainable in Kingston by Thames Water Utilities plc.
• For houses built after 1 October 1937 all pipework serving more than one property will be a private sewer until it joins the public sewer (normally under the road) and is maintainable by all the house owners using it. In the example above houses 3-13 will be responsible for one sixth each of the cost of repair to the section of sewer running from the points where nos. 1 and 7 connect..  If the defect or blockage is between nos. 7 and 9 then nos 9,11 and 13 will each be responsible for one third of the cost
• The main sewer in the road will normally be a public sewer whenever it was constructed.

• Private households, being served by a drain and/or private sewers are unable adequately to deal with the problem. In these cases we are able to serve a Legal Notice requiring the work to be done. The work may be done by the Council in default of the owners. However this will be subject to an administration charge and it will normally be more economical for the owners to agree amongst themselves to arrange for the works to be carried out.  
• Access is not possible or denied onto a property to investigate the situation. An Authorised Officer of the council may enter the property at any reasonable time to assess the extent of the problem.
• The council has reason to believe that a risk to public health exists and it is unlikely that the person(s) responsible will be able or willing to carry out necessary works.

The Council has a number of options for service of notice in respect of private drains and sewers using Public Health Acts, The Building Act and other provisions but legal action is complicated and can involve extra expense and delay.  However, legal action should not be necessary where owners are aware of their shared ownership and clearance and repair will be quicker and cheaper if they can agree to have works carried out and share costs fairly amongst themselves.

Contact information

If you feel that you are not solely responsible for a blocked sewer and need help in contacting your neighbours, or you have any further queries, please contact us for advice at:

Environmental Services
Guildhall
Kingston upon Thames
KT1 1EU
Telephone: 020 8547 5002

Email: environment@rbk.kingston.gov.uk.

If your property was built before 1937 and your drainage problem appears to be in a section of drainage used by other properties or if it appears that the main sewer in the road may be blocked please contact:

Thames Water Utilities plc
Telephone: 0845 9200 800