Drainage services
in Whitstable.

Because drainage runs out of sight, it tends to receive little attention from property owners in Whitstable until a fault makes itself known. Months can pass without a second thought, and where no maintenance schedule is in place, the eventual result is often an emergency drainage situation. BP Drains Ltd helps property owners avoid precisely that, providing blocked drain clearance, gutter cleaning and drain jetting alongside CCTV drain surveys, homebuyer drain surveys (pre-purchase drain surveys), drain lining and patch lining.

A common point of uncertainty arises before any of this work begins: when a fault develops, who holds responsibility for resolving it, and where do your own obligations for drain repairs end? To address this, the guide below outlines the principal features of a drainage system and clarifies where that responsibility sits.

Key Drainage Features Explained

What is a Drain?

A grasp of a few basic terms provides a solid foundation for understanding the repair and maintenance work associated with them.

• Drain - The pipe that serves a single property and its outbuildings, such as a garage

• Sewer - Usually publicly owned, a sewer collects water and waste from the drains of several buildings

• Public Sewer - A sewer that has been adopted by a sewerage undertaker, typically your local water company

• Lateral Drain - A pipe carrying wastewater from your property to a sewer, situated beyond your boundary

Your Responsibilities

So what does this mean in practice? In short, if the pipework leaving your Whitstable home sits within your grounds, the responsibility for maintaining it is yours. That covers keeping it flowing freely and attending to blocked drains, overflowing drains, gutter cleaning, drain lining, tree root removal and any other repairs that arise.

It follows that your household's day-to-day habits have a direct bearing on the condition and performance of your drains. Treat them poorly and you are considerably more likely to require a CCTV drain survey to investigate recurring drainage problems.

Where the drain serving your home or workplace lies outside your property boundary, however, responsibility for its upkeep and repair rests with the relevant third party. In Whitstable, that party is Southern Water.

In either case, it is worth noting that the vast majority of blocked drains occur close to the property itself, so careful disposal of household waste is always advisable.

As the provider managing water and wastewater across the area, Southern Water is responsible for:

• Any drain serving a property that falls outside the owner's boundary

• Drains that serve one property but run across another person's land

• Private sewers shared by more than one property

• Drains serving blocks of flats, commercial buildings and similar properties

BP Drains Ltd | Here to Help

The above is intended as a guide only and will not account for every unusual situation that may arise. If you have a drainage matter, urgent or otherwise, that we have not covered here, our team will gladly advise.

From drain lining to blocked drain clearance and gutter cleaning, and from CCTV and homebuyer drain surveys through to drain repairs, our team covers every requirement. Please get in touch with us for:

• Overflowing Drains

• Drain Jetting

• Drain Camera Inspections

• Patch Lining

• Tree Root Removal

• Gutter Clearing

• Pre-Purchase Drain Surveys