What are public sewers and who is responsible for maintaining them?
The public sewers are owned and maintained by the sewerage undertaker Thames Water Utilities Ltd, although you may pay your water bills to a different company. The public sewerage network is located mostly in the streets, but could in actual fact run almost anywhere including within private or other public land. You could even have public sewers in your garden. Thames Water is responsible for all aspects of maintenance and repair of their sewers, regardless of where they are. Private sewers and drains discharge into the public sewer. If the ‘private’ sewer to your property was built before October 1937 then it may also be the responsibility of Thames Water under the provisions of Section 24, of the Public Health Act 1936, but this will depend greatly upon when the Public Sewer system was actually constructed. (Drains serving single properties do not apply.) The public sewers are all mapped and both the Council and the Water Authority hold copies. This information may be viewed at the C
