Drainage, nuisance and housing matters

We can give advice and point you in the right direction on any number of everyday issues.

If you have a problem with the drains of your house, or maybe there is a smell coming from nearby, or an accumulation of refuse in a neighbouring garden, then please contact our private sector housing team by emailing privatesectorhousing@cheltenham.gov.uk, or call 01242 264119.

Blocked drains and sewers

What to look out for

There are a number of signs that a drain or sewer is blocked:

the toilet or sink waste are not draining away, or is draining very slowly
smell around drain covers
liquid coming out from around the drain cover

What causes blockages?

There are many causes of blockages. Common causes are tree roots growing into the pipes, a build of soap or grease deposits and disposable nappies.

Sometimes the pipe can collapse or be squashed by the weight of soil above it. This has happened where houses were built in the 1960s or 70s and the pipes were made of a material called 'pitch fibre'.

What to do in the event of a blockage

Waste water pipes within your property boundary that serve only your house and are your responsibility. Should you have a blocked drain, toilet or clogged sink, you have hire a plumber to investigate and clear the blockage. If the blockage is on external pipes or drains but within the boundary of your property, you can hire an independent drainage company to investigate and clear it for you.

If a private sewer is blocked, you should contact Severn Trent to clear the blockage as they are responsible for sections of the sewers and pipe that you share with neighbours and the pipes outside your property boundary.

If your property is rented, you should contact your landlord to let them know about the issue. If you are a homeowner, you should contact your insurance company before looking for a drainage contractor in case they can assist.

If the council is called in to investigate a problem with a blocked pipe or drain in a privately rented property, legal notices can be served on the property owner requiring the pipe or drain to be unblocked, within a specified time.

If the blockage is not removed, the council can give instructions for the work to be carried out and recover costs from the property owner, along with administrative charges incurred by the council.

Most blockages can be cleared by rodding through the sewer from an access point such as an inspection chamber or a rodding eye. Sometimes, however, it is necessary for the sewer to cleared using a high pressure water jet system, which should only be done by a specialist contractor.

Avoiding blockages at home

Blocked drains can be very unpleasant to deal with. However, there are simple steps you can take to avoid blockages in your home.

There are a few different reasons why blockages occur, but they’re most often caused by items such as wet wipes and sanitary products that are flushed down the toilet, or by leftover cooking fats and oils poured down the kitchen sink. These items stick together and over time they build up and block pipes and drains.

Follow these top tips to help keep your drains flowing free and easy.

Top tips for the kitchen

We have some simple ways you can prevent blockages to keep your pipes clear and wastewater flowing freely.

Scrape pots, pans and plates before washing up
Use a strainer in your kitchen sink
Use kitchen roll to wipe grease from your pans, plates and air fryers.
Collect used oil in a container and throw it in the bin

Top tips for the bathroom

Changing some of your bathroom habits, will help keep your toilet in tip tap shape and your shower’s stress free:

Only ever flush the 3P’s: pee, poo and (toilet) paper
Bag sanitary towels, tampons and colostomy bags then bin them
Bin wipes to avoid blocked drains, even the ones that are labelled “flushable”.
Use a bin for nappies, razors, cotton buds and dental floss

Please note: Never get rid of paint or medicine by pouring them down the drain or flushing them down the loo. Medicine can be taken to a pharmacy for safe disposal. Items like paint can be taken to a hazardous waste disposal centre. The nearest waste disposal centre for Cheltenham is Wingmoor Farm household recycling centre, half mile west of Bishops Cleeve on the road to Stoke Orchard, Bishops Cleeve, Nr Cheltenham, GL52 7RS.

Important things to watch out for

Flushing un-flushable items down the toilet or pouring the wrong thing down the sink causes blockages which are messy, unpleasant and can cause sewage to flow back inside your home. It can be upsetting for you and your loved ones and it’s also costly to fix. Here are some important watchouts.

Wet wipes

Wet wipes, baby wipes, cleaning wipes, make up wipes, toilet wipes – they’re all handy!

We use them around our house to clean surfaces, to wipe sticky faces and hands and keep babies bottoms clean and fresh – but not all wet wipes break down or dissolve like toilet paper when flushed, even if they are labelled as flushable.

Bag and bin un-flushable wipes

Only wet wipes with the 'Fine 2 Flush' mark on their packaging can be safely flushed down the loo. No sign of the symbol? Then don’t flush them – bin them.

These have been tested to confirm they don’t contain plastic, classing them as moist toilet tissues that will break down in the sewer system.

Ever heard of a fatberg?

All the food waste, leftover cooking oil and fat congeals with flushed sanitary products, wipes and other items to form a solid mass known as a fatberg.

Each time more un-flushable items enter the sewer, they stick to the fatberg and the blockage grows.

Fatbergs prevent your wastewater flowing though the sewer. It has nowhere to go and if left like this, dirty water can end up flooding your home and the homes of your neighbours. This is also harmful to the local environment.

Mains drainage

The responsibility for a length of drainage pipe is that of the owner of the property or properties it serves. This rule applies even where the pipe passes through land in another ownership, for example a neighbour's garden or a public road or footpath. The legal provisions are contained in the Public Health Acts 1936 and 1961, Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Acts 1976 and 1982, the Building Act 1984 and the Water Act 1989.

Drains

A drain serves one property only or buildings within the same curtilage and the cost of clearing it and carrying out any necessary repairs is payable by the owner. The council can serve legal notice requiring an owner to clean or repair a blocked or defective drain.

Sewers

A sewer serves two or more separate properties.

Public sewers

Public sewers which form part of the main sewerage system of the borough are cleaned and maintained by Severn Trent Water.

Also, certain "combined drains" serving private properties constructed before 1937 were legally classified as public sewers. Public sewers are normally in publicly accessible areas, but some may run under private gardens.

Non-mains drainage systems

Sometimes properties are too far away from a main sewer for connection to it to be possible. In these circumstances there are several alternative systems available:

Septic tank

A septic tank is a two or three chamber system, which retains sewage from a property for sufficient time to allow the solids to form into sludge at the base of the tank, where it is partially broken down. The remaining liquid in the tank then drains from the tank by means of an outlet pipe. The effluent normally flows into a soakaway to percolate into the ground, provided that the disposal does not generate a pollution risk to surface or ground water resources.

Septic tanks normally require de-sludging every twelve months. Avoid using bleach, disinfectants or germicides as these will kill the bacteria which digest the waste.

Package sewage treatment plants

Package sewage treatment plants are self-contained units for the treatment of sewage, or units which treat effluent from septic tanks to a higher standard. They must be properly installed in order to operate effectively. The effluent from a package plant is normally suitable for discharge directly to a watercourse.

Reed beds

Reed beds are specially designed and constructed plots with a gravel medium and an impermeable base which can be used to improve the quality of waste water.

Waterless chemical toilets

Waterless chemical toilets are self-contained systems which rely on biocides, in one form or another, to control the production of foul odours. They are used on campsites, construction sites and at large events.

Composting toilets

Composting toilets use natural processes to convert waste matter into compost and do not involve a liquid discharge. They are useful for remote sites, such as nature reserves.

Cesspool

A cesspool is a covered watertight tank used for receiving and storing sewage and has no outlet. A cesspool requires regular emptying and must not be allowed to overflow

Problems with smells, disrepair and accumulations of refuse

Smells

These can be very distressing and awkward for neighbours to deal with. They can arise from rubbish being left in the garden, problems with drains or a build up of dog faeces left in the garden.

Sometimes, in blocks of flats, circumstances arise when odours can become so strong that they permeate throughout the block. These circumstances can, if allowed to, give rise to nuisance situations which can be dealt with through the courts, if they are not remedied.

Accumulations of refuse

If refuse, particularly waste food, is allowed to accumulate it can easily become an attraction for vermin, such as rats. The council can take action to ensure that any rubbish is removed to a controlled waste disposal site.

Disrepair in private tenanted property

This covers all parts of the structure of the property, from the chimney on the roof down to the drains in the ground. These matters include:

Damaged or missing roof slates
Dampness, including condensation and mould growth in the property
Damaged glazing or rotted woodwork to windows
Dangerous electrical wiring