We will investigate complaints about septic tanks, private treatment plants and private drains if they are causing a public health hazard, and the landowner has not addressed the issue.
Urgent/out of hours complaints
We do not operate a 24 hour response to drainage complaints.
Who is responsible for drains?
Householders (or their landlords) are responsible for the drains from their property up to their boundary (unless it is a shared drain, where several neighbouring properties' drains meet together, before they join the public sewer).
If the problem is with a shared drain or a drain beyond the boundary of a house/business, contact Severn Trent Water who should be able to resolve your complaint.
Staffordshire County Council is responsible for drains on the highway. Find out more and how to report a problem.
Private drains and septic tanks
If the problem is with a drain serving just one property and within the boundary of a house/business, or with a septic tank or treatment plant on private land it is the responsibility of the landowner to contact a drainage contractor to resolve the issue. Local operators can be easily found through a simple internet search for ‘drain clearing Lichfield District’.
If the problem is with a private drain, septic tank or treatment plant, we recommend you contact the person responsible first, as it can often resolve the problem more quickly and lead to a better long term solution - download our standard letter. If the issue has still not been resolved, please continue to fill in this form.
Please use this form to report a complaint about private drain, septic tank or private treatment plants. As part of this form, we will ask you for your email address. This is so we can keep you up to date on what we will do to resolve/address your issue.
