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Drains and sewers

Your Responsibility
If your property is connected to a main sewer, it will drain through a private drain or sewer and into the public sewer. The private section is your responsibility, perhaps jointly with one or more of your neighbours, and it is important that you are aware of the extent of this responsibility.

The Council expects residents to deal with their own blockages and drainage repairs please see our frequently asked questions for further information.

If you consider the problem to be a public health issues, please contact Environmental Health and we will be able to advise you of the appropriate course of action

Private Drains and Sewers
A private drain or sewer is the series of pipes which connects your property to the public sewer. Your property may connect directly to the public sewer or it may join with a number of your neighbours' private drains and then connect to the public sewer. In extreme cases, a private sewer may serve dozens of properties, and it is not uncommon for one to serve half a dozen or more properties. A private drain or sewer may not run solely under private land. Most private sewers will, at some point, run under public highways.

Public Sewers
A public sewer is the responsibility of the Water Company and is generally referred to as the main sewer. All public sewers are shown on a set of maps held at the Council and provided by the Water Companies which operate within the District.

If you are Moving Home
The Council strongly advises you to establish the extent of the responsibilities if you are moving home. For newly built houses, the Council urges developers to lay their drainage systems to Water Company specifications so that they can become their responsibility. Ask your Solicitor to check.

Schemes may be privately available to insure against the often high costs of unblocking and repairing private sewers. For further information about these you should contact your Water Company or domestic Insurance Company.

The Council can help and advise you in the course of action you should take if you experience a blocked sewer or drain, so please contact us for advice if you suffer a problem on your private drainage system.

For Further Information
If you require any further advice and assistance or have any general enquiries please check our frequently asked questions alternatively please contact:

Environmental Health
Street Scene
West Oxfordshire District Council
Elmfield
New Yatt Road
Witney
Oxfordshire OX28 1PB
Telephone 01993 861020