Clearing blockages
Responsibility for clearing a blockage depends on its location and whether you are connected to the public wastewater system. Uisce Éireann is not responsible for septic tank blockages. If you know the location of a blockage you can use our pipe maintenance responsibility guide to help see who is responsible for clearing it.
Not sure? Please contact Uisce Éireann, where your issue will be triaged. If it is deemed that the issue requires further investigation by Uisce Éireann, your details will be forwarded to one of our inspector/crews who will then check the public sewers. If they feel it is a private issue, you may be advised to seek professional help from a drain cleaning company.
If the blockage is in your internal plumbing, inside your private property boundaries or the connection to the public sewer then it is your responsibility to clear this blockage. There are a number of things you can do to try and remove the blockage.
Sink blockages
Try using a drain snake to push, break up, or remove the blockage.
Straight pipe sections
Try using drain rods to remove the blockage. Although this will depend on the nature and location - if it is on public or private land. Drain rods can be bought or hired or provided as a service by a drain cleaning company.
Blockages downstream of the property
Then all properties contributing to the flow are responsible for the blockage. In this instance, any neighbours should be contacted to determine the location of the blockage by lifting any access chambers or manholes on the drain. Then rodding of the drain may release the blockage.
Responsibility for wastewater issues
- Uisce Éireann has sole responsibility for the cleaning and maintenance of the public sewer network.
- Householders / property owners are responsible for their internal plumbing and the private side pipework leading up to the sewer mains. If you are connected to a septic tank or a private waste water system we cannot assist you.
When to contact Uisce Éireann
If you suspect the blockage is on the public wastewater side and you are not connected to a septic tank then please contact Uisce Éireann. If the blockage is on the public side we will have it cleared as a matter of urgency. This is generally within 24 hours.
Customers are responsible for the clearing of any blockages of the wastewater Service Connections up to the Uisce Éireann sewer, as explained in the Uisce Éireann pipe maintenance responsibility guide. Should a Customer (or a Customer's drain-clearing contractor) be unable to clear a blockage and suspects that there may be a structural failure on the connection pipework located in a public area that is resulting in the pipe flow being restricted to such an extent that flow is backing up/flooding, the Customer should then contact Uisce Éireann to discuss.
Uisce Éireann may request that the Customer obtains a CCTV survey in order to assess the condition of the pipe and to provide evidence of the structural failure. Customers need to ensure they follow the Uisce Éireann Guidance Document: Requirements for Customer Wastewater Service Connection CCTV Surveys.
A competent CCTV Contractor will be familiar with the work described in this Guidance Document and will advise the Customer accordingly. Customers need ot be aware that the cost associated with such a CCTV survey is at the Customer's expense. The resulting CCTV Report should then be submitted to Uisce Éireann for consideration. Uisce Éireann may undertake the necessary structural repair, subject to funding availability.
What to do when your neighbours won't share the cost
A property owner can bring another to court under Water Services legislation, if the private drain can be shown to be a communal one, and the drain causing a nuisance cannot be addressed without access to the drain on the others property, which is being denied, or there is a failure to undertake necessary works to abate the nuisance.