Wem · SY4
Emergency Drainage in Wem
What to do first when a tank overflows, sewage backs up or a drain floods, and how to reach a local specialist once the immediate risk is contained. Serving Wem and the surrounding villages, including Clive, Loppington, Edstaston, Aston.
Some drainage problems can wait for a convenient appointment. Sewage backing up into a bathroom cannot. Neither can an overflowing septic tank or cesspit, a collapsed drain flooding a yard, or a treatment plant in alarm at a holiday let.
When a system fails around Wem, the ditch network is the immediate concern: the Roden’s feeders run along most boundaries, so an overflowing tank at a village cottage has running water within reach almost by definition. If effluent is getting to a ditch, the Environment Agency hotline comes first. Then containment — stop putting water into the system, keep people and pets away, leave the covers closed — and describe the problem to whoever will deal with the source.
The villages around Wem grew up along lanes rather than sewers, and most outlying properties run on private drainage. Older cottages often have tanks of considerable age and uncertain history, and nearby Wem Moss, like the other mosses, marks ground where drainage has always needed care.
Access and practicalities around Wem
The lanes between Wem’s villages are narrow and bounded by ditches, and farm access can be tight. It is straightforward country to work in with the right planning, provided the route is worked out in advance.
Local watercourses around Wem
The River Roden runs through the town and takes the district’s drainage, fed by a lattice of field ditches. Many rural tanks sit within easy reach of a ditch, so the General Binding Rules and their ban on septic discharge to watercourses are directly relevant across this area.
What to do right now
- Stop using water in the property. No toilets, showers, dishwasher or washing machine, because every litre that goes in has to come out somewhere
- Keep people and animals well away from standing sewage, and wash hands and any skin that has touched it thoroughly
- Never enter a septic tank, cesspit or treatment plant, and never lean in. These are confined spaces holding hydrogen sulphide and methane, and the air in them can kill in seconds
- Keep tank covers closed and secure, and keep children and pets away from any cover that has been lifted or damaged
- If sewage is reaching a ditch, stream, brook or river, report it to the Environment Agency incident hotline on 0800 80 70 60, which is staffed around the clock
- If effluent has entered the house, shut off the affected rooms and keep it away from anywhere food is prepared or stored
- Photograph the affected area before any clean-up, for your insurer and for whoever attends
- Note when it started and what changed just before, because that is the first thing any contractor will ask
Around Wem
As well as Wem itself, the surrounding villages and farms are covered, including Clive, Loppington, Edstaston, Aston, Tilley, Nonely, Northwood. If you are somewhere smaller or somewhere between, get in touch anyway.
Common questions about emergency drainage
Sewage has escaped near a stream. Who do I need to tell? Is it safe to lift the tank lid and look inside? These and more are answered on the main service page.
Emergency Drainage: all questions answered →Other services in Wem
Emergency Drainage elsewhere in Shropshire
Need emergency drainage in Wem?
Describe the problem and we will tell you what you are most likely dealing with, and put you in touch with a local specialist where one covers your area. No charge for that, and no obligation.