Flooding and drainage

The owner or occupant is responsible for the repair and clearing of blocked drains within private properties.

There are various ways you can identify if you have an issue with your drain. You may find that your toilet is blocked, grids that take water from sinks may overflow or there may be smells around the grid or inspection chamber.

We have certain powers to force owners to deal with drainage issues on privately owned land.

To find out whether a sewer / drain is public or private, use the United Utilities 'explain a drain' page.

Explanation of drains and sewers.

• a private drain is a pipe carrying waste water / sewage or surface water from an individual property. These are often referred to as private drains as the responsibility for maintenance, repair and clearance lies with the owner of the property;
• a lateral drain is the part of a drain which lies outside the property boundary, and in some cases, can be located within a neighbours garden, or an alleyway, or road beyond the property; and
• a sewer is a pipe that carries waste water / sewage or surface water from more than one property.

Resolving drainage issues - what you can do

Check if your neighbours are experiencing similar problems, if none of your neighbours are affected, it is likely that your private drain is blocked and therefore the responsibility lies with you. You may want to check with your insurance company to see if you are covered by your policy. If you are unable to clear the blockage yourself you can contact a specialist drainage contractor, plumber or reputable builder to clear the drain or carry out any repairs.

If your neighbours are also affected then the problem is likely to be with the sewer and responsibility lies with United Utilities contact them on 0800 330 033.

If you are a tenant of a rented property, you should contact your private landlord or Housing Association and request that they resolve the matter for you.

How to Protect your Home Against Flooding

Advice on how to protect your home against flooding can be found on the Environment Agency website.

What we can do

In order to protect Public Health, we have certain powers to ensure that repairs are undertaken and blockages removed from private drains.

We will do this through legal notice to the owner of the property. If the notice is not complied with, we can undertake the necessary work to fix the problem. However it will be cheaper for you to organise your own contractor to undertake the work.