Broken Drains

A broken drain can be anything from a mild annoyance to and absolute nightmare. Broken drains will allow water, possibly foul or even soiled toilet waste to leak out into the surrounding land, or cause toilets and sinks to overflow inside the property the drains service.

You need to remain vigilant and ensure any slowing of water draining, or rising water in the toilet bowl are addressed as soon as they are noticed to avoid the potentially serious damage that could occur if ignored.

Signs of a broken drain

A collapsed and broken drain is one of the most extreme problems to have with a drain. Often a broken drain that has collapsed is the result of extended poor drain maintenance, but can also be the result of damage to the pipes that carry waste products from drain to the sewer, or even the breakdown of the pipes themselves.

Broken drains cause blockages

Occasional blockages might be solved by a thorough drain cleaning process, but if your home suffers from regular drain blockages or even the complete backing up of sewage in your home, then a collapse somewhere along the drain is the most likely reason.

Without having a survey done in your drains, it can be difficult to tell the difference between a blockage and damage to the pipe itself. If you have suffered repeated cases of blocked drains in your home, a CCTV survey will in most cases identify any damage that is causing problems in your drains. After that, the problem can be sorted out properly.

Smell of sewage

This is probably one of the first things that you are likely to notice that would indicate you have a broken drain. Smelling a foul sewage smell around your drains or in your home could indicate damage somewhere along the pipe. This odour may well disappear after having your drains unblocked, but if you have a collapsed drain the smell will soon return once more detritus has had chance to build up again.

As soon as you notice a strong sewage smell around your property, contact Premier Drainage Services to fix the issue as soon as possible.

Rodent infestations

The chances of having a drain and rat problem at the same time is quite common, as the two could easily be related. When a drain is damaged, cracked, collapsed or broken in some other way, it becomes open to intrusion from the outside.

Rats can lead a thriving life in sewer systems and if they end up finding their way to your damaged drainpipe, they could end up making a home in your homes drainage system. It is worth remembering that if you believe rats have infested your home through your sewers, a professional pest control company will be able to deal with the main infestation, while our drainage engineers can repair your drains to prevent future infestations.

Damp or mould

When your drain is damaged or broken, the flow of water through your home will be affected. This can lead to wastewater creating damp patches on your walls around where your pipes have been damaged. Damp leads to mould, which creates an unhealthy living environment for children and the elderly and infirm in particular. If mould has begun to appear in your home, and is accompanied by a sewer smell, it’s possible that you have a collapsed or broken drain.

Slow drains

Slow to empty drains are very frustrating to deal with. Usually they’d point towards a blockage, but if the drains remain slow, or revert back to being slow after a clean, then it’s likely that there is something more serious going on. A CCTV survey will show whether your drain is collapsed or damaged in any way. Tree root intrusion is a common cause of drain damage. Once tree root incursion has been identified, your drains can be fully repaired to maximise their performance.

These are just some of the common signs of collapsed drains. If you notice any of these, it is important to call a professional drainage engineer to carry out a full inspection.

Premier Drainage Services can resolve all your drainage problems, quickly and at a very competitive price. Whether you suspect that your drains are severely damaged, blocked or have no idea what the issue might be, we have the skills and equipment to identify and fix problems large and small. We work quickly and safely at all times and will work closely with you to ensure the most appropriate solution is carried out at your convenience. To find out more about our drain repair services, why not call us today?

In a best-case scenario, your drains will be regularly maintained so a collapse can be entirely avoided, but sometimes-severe damage can be unavoidable. You should act on a collapsed drain as soon as possible to minimise repair costs and disruption to your life and property.

Who is responsible for repairing broken drains and sewers

Generally speaking, you’re usually responsible for drains inside the boundaries of your property, while the sewerage company is responsible for lateral drains, which are usually outside of property boundaries, and sewers. Although most sewers are now publicly owned, there are still some private or unadopted sewers. If one of these serves your property, you may be responsible for maintaining it, so it is worth checking on your property deeds.

What is the difference between a drain and a sewer?

A drain is a simply a pipe that drains water and waste from a building and other buildings which could belong or be adjoined it, such as a garage.

A lateral drain is a length of pipe, which carries wastewater away from your property to a sewer. These are usually located outside your property boundary, often under a public pavement or road. A lateral drain might run under your property if you share a sewer with your neighbour.

A sewer collects water and waste from the drains from a number of buildings. Most sewers are publicly owned and are maintained by your water company. Remember, there are still some privately owned sewers. Some people are not connected to a sewer but to a cesspool, septic tank or treatment plant. Often these type of properties are in remote locations or in very old villages where mainstream sewers have not been installed. If you aren’t connected to a sewer, you won’t have to pay sewerage charges to a sewerage company.

Repairs to drains

You are responsible for maintaining or repairing any drains inside the boundaries of your property – these are your private drains. You do not have to maintain or repair lateral drains that you share with your neighbour, your water company is responsible for these.

You will have to pay to get work done to your private drains, but you are free to choose whichever company you want to do the work. Alternatively, you may take out insurance to pay for work on private drains.

Sometimes, you might be required to have insurance for the drain to your property. You should check on your building insurance policy to determine if this is the case.

In some circumstances, your local authorities environmental health department can order you to carry out improvement work or replace a private drain. They might do this if they think your drain is too small for your property or if it is causing a blockage.

If necessary, a local authority can carry out the work themselves and then charge you for it.

Repairs to sewers

Sewers and lateral drains connected to the public network used to be the responsibility of the property owner. However, most are now maintained by local water companies. If you have any problems with your sewer or lateral drain, for example if it is blocked, contact your local water company.

Consider access to the property as your water company has a right to enter your property if it needs to do this in order to inspect or maintain the sewer.

Private and unadopted sewers

You might have a private sewer or lateral drain if you live on a site that has a number of properties, such as an apartment block or a permanent caravan site.

If you have a private or unadopted sewer, and own a property, you are responsible for the cost of maintaining and repairing it. If the sewer serves a number of properties, all the owners are jointly responsible for these costs.

Your local authority environmental health department can order you to repair or unblock a private sewer or lateral drain if it’s not properly maintained. If you don’t do the work in the time period specified by the local authority, they may carry out the work themselves and charge you for it.

Asking your sewerage company to take over or adopt a private sewer or lateral drain

You can ask your water or local sewerage company to take over or adopt a private sewer or lateral drain. You can do this if the sewer or drain has been constructed or improved to the standards required by the company and is in reasonable condition. The sewerage company needs to be satisfied that adopting the sewer will benefit the sewerage system as a whole. Everyone responsible for maintaining the lateral drain or sewer must agree to responsibility being transferred to the sewerage company.

If the water or sewerage company refuses to adopt a lateral drain or sewer, the owners can appeal to OFWAT. Again, payment for fixing broken drains that are owned by you will be down to you, whereas broken drains owned by an authority will not.

Right to connect to a public sewer

All water and sewerage companies have a duty to provide public sewers to make sure the area is properly drained. Usually, you have the right to connect the drain from your property to the public sewer, although there may be a charge for this.

Can the local authority insist you connect to the public sewer?

If the nearest public sewer is more than a hundred feet from your property and your drain runs into an adequate cesspool or septic tank, your local authority can’t insist that you connect to the public sewer.

However, they can insist if they agree to pay for the additional costs of connection, including construction, maintenance and repairs.

Therefore, the watchword in all of this is ‘maintenance’. Regular effective maintenance of your drains and sewer system will help to prevent the chances of you having to deal with a broken drain in the future. In addition, ensuring that no trees are planted too close to underground pipework is also a good way of avoiding a broken or collapsed drain.