How to request a sewage map

There are a number of reasons why you might want to request a sewage map. If you suspect that there is a problem with the drains around your house, you may want to know exactly where the sewers are so that you are able to identify exactly where the problem is. You may be about to start some work on or around the house, like building an extension, and need to know where the drains and servers are so that you don’t damage anything during the construction.

Sewage maps are especially important if you are building a new house, as you will need to know where the public sewage lines are so that you can connect your drains up to them – not to mention calculating how much it will cost you to install a network large enough to make that connection. There are plenty of other reasons why you might want to request a sewage map, but it is not always clear how to go about it, or who you should talk to.

Who can you request a sewage map from?

There are two main groups from whom you can request a sewage map; your local authority, or your water company.

As is often the case with the many different local authorities in the UK, there is no cohesive policy when it comes to issuing sewage maps. Each authority will offer something slightly different, so if you would like to go down that route, it is best to contact them directly. It may be that you need to go down to the offices, as they should have records kept there which they will be able to make a copy of.

Going to your water provider can be a little bit more straightforward as you can usually find details online. Once again, exactly how this works will differ slightly from company to company, so it is best to check on each website for full details. The main reason they are slightly more organised when it comes to issuing sewage maps is because they can charge a fee for it – it is certainly in their interest to help you out!

How much does a sewage map cost?

As we alluded to above, all of the different regions and companies will differ slightly from each other, both in terms of how you might request a sewage map and how much you can expect to pay.

As a rough guide though, you can expect to pay between £40 and £70 for a sewage map. Some companies, such as Severn Trent and Anglian Water, use a company called DigDat to provide the searches. You will need to register an account with them, and they have a number of different price options depending on whether you want a one-off map or a longer subscription with them, which may be more cost effective if you are working on a number of different properties.

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Are all sewers recorded on sewer maps?

Unfortunately, not all sewers show up on sewer maps, which means further investigation may be required. Their absence on some maps is down to the change in regulations concerning drains in 2011. At this time, many privately owned sewers and drains were transferred over to public ownership, and unfortunately many of these have not been accounted for on these official records. If this has happened near your property, it is likely that a full site investigation will need to be carried out.

How can Ideal Response help you?

If you are trying to identify exactly where a problem is within your drainage system, our CCTV drain survey might be the ideal solution for you. With our highly trained staff, and using our state-of-the-art technology, we will be able to show you the location of any blockages, leaks and anywhere that there is damage to the pipework.

By doing this, we can save you an awful lot of time and hassle. We won’t need to dig up anything in order to conduct our survey, and we will provide you with a full account of what we found, with recommendations if we feel like any further work is required. We will even give you a digital file of the video footage that we have taken. It’s important to remember that preventing a sewage leak is usually easier than a full sewage cleaning.

We can be onsite within 2 hours of your call, so if you suspect that you have a problem with your drains, don’t delay – get in touch with us today.