Up to 30% of sewers in England and Wales could be private, that is unadopted by the local sewerage undertaker and therefore the responsibility of householders and other owners of the properties they serve. But these householders may be unaware they are responsible for costly maintenance and repair.

Also many drains are shared by adjacent properties, the owners of which are jointly responsible for the maintenance and repair of them.

Often the responsible parties only discover the unsavoury situation when problems occur, and it can lead to difficulties in rectifying them for those responsible.

The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has recognised the problem and has launched a consultation paper on reviewing private sewers and drains England and Wales.

The problems:

• Many householders do not know whether their property is on a public or private sewer until there is a problem with it.
• There can be difficulties in establishing the ownership of, and responsibilities for maintaining private sewers.
• There can often be unwillingness on the part of some owners or occupiers of houses to accept their responsibilities, especially after changes of ownership and difficulties in requiring them to contribute towards the cost of repair to the sewers.
• The owners and occupiers of houses are often unable to afford the high cost of repairing the sewers and for some, this can present severe financial difficulties.
• There can be difficulties in getting private sewers adopted by the sewerage undertaker because of the nature of the construction and/or condition of the sewer.
• The difficulties associated with property owners being responsible for 'lateral' drains or private sewers situated outside the curtilages of their properties where, for example, they have no control over bodies such as utility companies or highway authorities possibly damaging those drains and private sewers when working in the vicinity.

Three key proposals have already been identified but the consultation asks for further ideas.

Key proposals identified so far:

• Rationalisation of the standards and controls for the construction of new sewers.
• Clarify the provisions in the Water Industry Act 1991 relating to the provision and extension of public sewers by sewerage undertakers.
• Improve public awareness of the various responsibilities for maintaining sewers and drains.

A Protocol that requires all new sewers to be built to a standard that would not preclude them from being adopted on completion, has already been agreed and published.

Views are sought by 26 September 2003, and a final report summarising the findings of the consultation will be produced in the Winter.