If you are a private householder and have a blocked drain
Drains and sewers are the pipes that carry foul waste away from one or more houses. Depending on the age of your property, it may be yours or Thames Water’s responsibility to maintain it.
If a drain was laid before 1937, it is normally the responsibility of Thames Water to deal with the problem. You can contact them on 08459 200 800.
If your drain was laid after this date then responsibility for maintenance lies with the owners of the properties that it serves
Eg if the drain serves only your property then you have sole responsibility to maintain this; if you share your drains with your neighbours then you have joint responsibility for the maintenance.
You may need to contact a private drainage firm to unblock them for you.
If you are unsure when your property was built and who has the responsibility for maintaining your drains you can contact Thames Water who can advise you.
If you are a council tenant and have a blocked drain
You will need to contact the customer service centre at Hounslow Homes on 0800 085 65 75. They will arrange for a plumber to visit you to resolve the problem.
What to do if your keys have fallen down a road gully
We can attempt to retrieve the keys from the gully. There is a charge of £75 for this service.
Payment can be made by cheque or cash and must be paid to the crew at the time the keys are retrieved.
Reporting a blocked road drain or road gully
Blocked or broken road drains can be reported to us by completing the simple e-form on the right of this page.
Who to report a broken/damaged manhole cover to
If you can identify the owner of the manhole cover eg Thames Water, Electricity Board, BT then you should report it to them directly.
If you are unable to identify the owner then you can report it to us.
If your neighbour's drain is blocked and overflowing onto your property
If, after approaching your neighbour and informing them of the problem, they refuse to do something about it you can contact us on 020 8583 5555 and we may be able to assist with the problem.
In some cases we may serve a legal notice on them to ask them to fix the problem.
If a notice is served
We can serve legal notice in respect of private drains and sewers under the Public Health Act. If you have been served with a notice from us to clear your drains then the terms of the notice must be complied with. If not the work will be undertaken by us on your behalf and you will be charged the costs incurred.
Contact us
Drainage
Environment Department
Civic Centre
Lampton Road
Hounslow
TW3 4DN
Email: drainage@hounslow.gov.uk
Tel:020 8583 5555
Fax:020 8583 4932