Module 1: Sewage Law & Drainage Responsibility Definitions, ownership, the 2011 transfer

Drain

A pipeline, which conveys foul sewage and/or surface water, runoff from a single property. It is usually of small internal diameter.

Sewer

A pipeline, which normally conveys foul sewage and/or surface water runoff from more than one property.

Private Sewer

A sewer that is not a public sewer. ( Deeds)

Public Sewer

A shared drainage pipe or when a pipe leaves the boundary of the property and is connected to a main.

Highway Drain

A pipeline owned by the highway authority, which conveys surface water from the highway (e.g. from roads and footpaths).

Foul Sewer

A sewer that is intended to convey only foul sewage.

Surface Water Sewer

A sewer that is intended to convey only surface water

Combined Sewer

A sewer that conveys both foul sewage and surface water.

Culvert (or culverted watercourse)

A watercourse or a stream that has been piped or covered over. A culverted watercourse is not a public sewer.

Road Gully

A small chamber normally covered by a metal grate, usually situated at the edge of a highway, which is used to drain surface water from the highway. The surface water is then passed to a highway drain, public sewer, watercourse or soakaway. Gullies are part of the highway drainage system.

Sewerage Undertaker

The Water Company appointed under the Water Industry Act 1991 to be responsible to sewerage. In some areas the Water Company may arrange for the District Council to carry out these functions on its behalf.

Ownership And Maintenance

The first principle to be applied is that whoever owns a drain or sewer is normally responsible for its maintenance. Tenants are not normally responsible for the maintenance of drains and private sewers (although this responsibility could be passed to the tenant in a tenancy agreement).

Drains

Drains (and associated inspection chambers) serve a single property and are owned and maintained by the owner of the property.

Private Sewers

Occasionally the deeds to a property will indicate the ownership of a private sewer and the responsibility for maintenance.

Public Sewers

Public sewers are owned and maintained by the Sewerage Undertaker. Sometimes the District Council maintains these sewers on behalf of the Sewerage Undertaker.

Highway Drains

Highway drains and road gullies are owned and maintained by the highway authority unless the street is un-adopted. Sometimes the District Council undertakes the maintenance on its behalf. If the street is un-adopted then maintenance of the highway drainage is the responsibility or the property owners on either side of the street.

Soakaways and Drainage Fields

Soakaways usually serve one property in which case they are owned and maintained by the owners of that property. The maintenance of Soakaways and drainage fields serving more than one property would normally be shared equally between the owners of the properties that drain to the soakaway and drainage field.

Septic Tanks and Cesspools

Septic tanks or cesspools usually serve one property and are owned and maintained by the owner of the property. If the septic tank or cesspool serves more than one property then it will usually be jointly maintained by the owners of the properties that it serves and they will be equally responsible for its maintenance. Some septic tanks serving more than one property built prior to 1937 are owned and maintained by the Sewerage Undertaker. Where they serve council properties, however, they are usually owned and maintained by the District Council’s housing department.

The owner of the land through which a watercourse passes is responsible for its maintenance.

Where a watercourse, stream or culvert forms the boundary of a property,

the owner of the property is usually responsible for maintaining the bank of the watercourse or stream up to the centre line of the

watercourse or stream and in the case of a culvert is jointly responsible for maintenance with other owners

Drainage Responsibility

Drainage law changed on 1st October 2011,

the home owner is responsible for the repair

and maintenance of the drains within their

property boundary or up to the point the

drains become shared with another property

so long as they are connect to a main sewer

(foul or surface water).

Where the drains are not connected to the

mains the responsibility lies with the properties

connected upstream from the point of defect

(Go through the site plan with the group and discuss the different responsibilities shown.)