Page content section :
Housing
Drain clearing service
- House drains and sewers clearing service
- Public sewers
- Cesspools / Cesspits
- Useful drainage terms and definitions
House drains and sewers clearing service
Adur District Council operate a house drain clearing service, the rates
are as follows :
(Note : Prices on this page are subject to an annual review / increase in
April each year. These are correct as at April 2008).
Charges from April 1st 2008 to March 31st 2009 :
- During normal working hours between 8:00am - 5:00pm, Monday to Friday
:
£65.00 per call (inclusive of VAT) - Outside normal working hours between 5:00pm - 8:00am, Monday to Friday
:
£70.00 per call out and £15.00 per half hour or part of thereafter (therefore the minimum charge is £85.00 inclusive of the first half hour). - All day Saturday and Sunday or Bank Holidays :
£70.00 per call out and £15.00 per half hour or part of thereafter (therefore the minimum charge is £85.00 inclusive of the first half hour).
Note : This service is no longer free of charge if the occupant is in receipt of Income Support, Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit.
- As callouts are generally urgent, please call (01273) 263139 or 263154 (9:00am to 5:30pm Monday to Friday) or, if out of hours, call the duty supervisor.
- Payment is required before the work is carried out. You will either have to supply a cheque or cash to the operative or evidence of electronic payment by printing off the receipt in the drain clearance form below.
- For less urgent problems you can send
Building Services an e-mail
or use our on-line drain clearance request form which includes payment on-line and electronic submission or, if you prefer, you can print it off and submit with a cheque.
Note : This is for house drains only, for surface water drains please contact West Sussex County Council on :
- Tel : (01243) 642105 between 8:00am and 8:00pm, or
07771 854 184 out of hours in an emergency.
See also : Useful drainage terms and definitions below
Public sewers
Public sewers are the responsibility of the Southern Water Authority who can be contacted on :
- Tel : 0845 278 0845
Southern Water's website (www.southernwater.co.uk)
Sewer plans can be seen on our GIS mapping system
See also : Useful drainage terms and definitions below
Cesspools / Cesspits
Adur Council does not provide an emptying service for cesspools or cesspits. To find a local contractor please refer to your local Yellow Pages, Thompson's directory, or similar publication.
You can find out more about drainage problems by contacting Adur Council on :
- Tel : (01273) 263139 or 263154 (9:00am to 5:30pm Monday to Friday)
or send Building Services an e-mail
See also : Useful drainage terms and definitions below
Useful drainage terms and definitions
Foul Water Drainage
This includes waste water from W.Cs, baths, washbasins, washing machines, dishwashers, sinks, etc.
Drainage - definitons :
- Drain - a drainage pipe serving just one property
- Sewer - a drainage pipe serving more than one property
- Public Sewer - a sewer adopted by the sewerage undertaker
- Private Sewer - a sewer not adopted by the sewerage undertaker
- Vested Sewer - a private sewer built before 1st October 1937
- Sewerage Undertaker - This is likely to be Southern Water
Responsibility :
- Drains - The responsibility for drains rests with the occupier and owner of the building served by the drain.
- Sewers - The responsibility for sewers depends upon whether it is a public, private or vested sewer.
- Public sewers are the responsibility of the sewerage undertaker.
- Private sewers are the responsibility of the occupiers and owners of the properties who use that length of sewer.
- Vested sewer - The sewerage undertaker is responsible for its cleansing but not for its maintenance or repair.
- See also public sewers section above.
Clearing blockages :
- For details of the House drains and sewers clearing service see above.
- There are also many specialist contractors, who can be found in the telephone directory, Yellow Pages, Thompson guides, etc (look under 'drain and pipe cleaning' or 'drain cleaning and unblocking').
- Private flat owners should contact their management agent.
- Private tenants should contact their landlords.
- Tenants of Housing Associations should contact their repairs hotline, or the emergency number out of office hours.
Preventing blockages :
- The drainage and sewerage system was not designed to handle personal items such as sanitary towels, disposable nappies, condoms, and incontinence pads. It has been estimated that two thirds of blockages are caused by people flushing disposable items.
- Nor can it cope with lots of food waste such as rice or fat, which tends to solidify in the pipes and cause blockages.
National Bag it and Bin it campaign
The
following information is supported by the water industry and
government.
- Disposing of personal items :
Wrap well and dispose of along with other domestic waste - this includes items such as :- Sanitary towels, panty liners and backing strips
- Tampons, tampon applicators and wrappers
- Condoms, femidoms and packets
- Cotton buds
- Facial and cleaning wipes
- Bandages and plasters
- Disposible razor blades - make sure they are well wrapped to avoid injury
- Any other items, eg : food, plastics, toilet roll tubes, tights, etc
- Disposable nappies (and nappy wipes) :
Wrap well and dispose of along with other domestic waste. But before doing so, please flush any solids (but NOT the nappy) down the toilet.
Re-usable nappies are also available from various suppliers, who advertise in the telephone directory, Yellow Pages, Thompson guides, etc - see also our nappies webpage. - Clinical and hazardous waste :
Hazardous, clinical, chemical or toxic waste must not be put in dustbins or refuse sacks with other domestic waste (or be flushed down the toilet) - this includes items such as :- Syringes, needles and razor blades
- Colostomy bags
- Incontinence pads
- Medicines
- Used bandages and dressings
- For what to do with it please see our hazardous and clinical waste webpage
- For more information about the National Bag it and Bin it campaign see the Bag It and Bin It website (www.bagandbin.org)
Further information
- If your query is about the location or technical aspects of public sewers, then please see the public sewers section above.
- If you have problems with defective drains or private sewers, then Environmental Health can provide advice and where necessary can use legal powers to ensure that any defects are remedied - see the Environmental Health drainage section.
- Problems with public or vested sewers should be referred to Southern Water - please see the public sewers section above.
Surface water drainage
Definitons :
- Rainwater from roofs, roads, garage compounds, parking areas etc.
Responsibility :
- Public highway :
The road gullies are the responsibility of the Highway Authority, West Sussex County Council, as are the drains connecting gullies to a public sewer.
Public surface water sewers are the responsibility of either Southern Water, or where it is a designated highway drain, West Sussex County Council. - Private roads, garage compounds, parking areas, etc :
These are the responsibility of the householders adjoining the private road or drained area. The householder's responsibility extends as far as, and including the connection to, the public surface water sewer (if applicable). - See also public sewers section above.
