Drains and sewers

[Kimberley88]

Not sure I am in the right place here, but here goes.

I have a diagram at http://www.frogit.co.uk/drain/drainplan.doc

There are three of us connected to the drain, the first problem is when the builders installed the drains 20 years ago you will see the drains from 91 and 89 enter in the wrong direction and the flow of the pipe then doubles back on itself and at some point changes direction towards the second inspection drain.

The problem is that between these two drains there appears to be a collapse, Enviromental health used cctv upstream and encountered stones randomly until approx 10 meters when it gets heavy and standing water prevents further investigation.

CCTV down stream only allows approx 8 meters when water is encountered.

So it appears there is a collapse of some type between these points, water does flow down the drain which suggest the bottom of the pipe is OK. It takes approx 3 months to backup.

My understanding is there should be an inspection drain on the change of direction is this right? my neighbour has the garden flagged and is not helpfull in supplying information!

Also she has a conservatory that emptys rain water directly into the foul water drain, there is no inspection point and I am sure the leaves etc contribute to the blocking. I also thought this was not allowed as we have dual drain system.

The problem is I am on the end of the line and I get the overflow, my neighbour has no interest in getting this fixed which is why enviromental health get involved. I can unblock with rods from upstream direction.

But I need to get this sorted out and have no clue how I should go about this or how I can investigate further. Any ideas anyone.

Thanks in advance.

 

[noseall]

The inspection chamber between 89 an 87 is orientated so that the flow is opposite to your diagram arrows. are you sure you have it right?

 

[Kimberley88]

Yes that is definatley right, the drain emptys in the wrong direction. Bellway builders for you!

 

[^woody^]

Let the EHO's at the council sort it out. And pester them to make sure it is dealt with quickly

And also tell your water authority about the discharge of the rainwater into the foul pipe.

Check your home insurance to see if you are covered for any required work

 

[Nige F]

That lot is a private sewer- you all have to share in the cost of repairs - but not equally (in law) Have a google , you`ll see what I mean . Bloody nightmare-had similar trouble @ my last house. (Resolved before I sold it) Now I`m in an old place with a Section 24 sewer- google this too. Seriously, Good Luck to you . Good advice from woody.

 

[Kimberley88]

Thanks for advice, it is going to be a nightmare because the neighbour in the middle is the proverbial pain in the bum and it looks like the problem is on her land.

Problem with enviromental health is they can't get involved until its causing a problem so I have to wait a few months for it to block.

I was at this point once before and EVH served notice but the neighbour decided she would take matters into hand and had it unblocked and billed us both because she decided it would be cheaper than EVH as it happened it cost more and the problem is still occurring.

Its one of those "its not affecting me" so I am not interested cases.

She would not even leave the gate unlocked for EVH to have access to check the inspection chamber.

 

[^woody^]

Have you clarified with the council EHO that they can't take action until there is a blockage?

If the drain is defective, then I would expect that their powers under the Building Act, or under the EPA 1990 - Environmental Protection Act (ie statutory nuisance) would allow them to take action immediately.

The EPA is useful as it would give the neighbour 21 days to 'abate the nuisance' or face prosecution in the magistrates court and get a criminal record. Abating the nuisance would involve repairing the pipe, not just clearing it

Press the council on their options - and obligations

 

[Kimberley88]

The EHO said they can only get involved when there is an overflow to the property.

Last time they issued the 48 hour notice, this time they did a CCTV but I had to unblock it first. The CCTV showed a problem but because of the water in the pipe the CCTV was unable to pin point it only give rough location.

What they said is ...

I need to get it power jetted and then have CCTV inspection, presumably having it cleared properly will allow CCTV to see the problem. Although the debris in the drain looks to me like the bedding material and the quantity suggests it did not get there accidentally.

But as I explained to the Officer my neighbour is not going to give me permission to do any of this. So he suggested I leave it to block again and get them involved because at present as far as they are concerned the drain is flowing and therefore not a problem.

But as you suggest I will pursue this with the council. The last thing I need is a total collapse although the cr*p will be emptying in her garden so I guess it does not matter.

The EHO is aware that its blocked four times in the 12 months so maybe they should take some sort of action.