What to do first
Emergency Drainage in Shropshire
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.
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.
This page sets out what to do in the first few minutes, before anyone arrives. Most of it costs nothing, and it is the part that limits the damage: stopping water going into the system, keeping people away from what has come out of it, and reporting a discharge if one has reached a watercourse.
Once the immediate risk is contained, describe the problem here or by phone. You will get a straight read on what is most likely happening and, where one covers your area, an introduction to a local off-mains drainage firm who can attend and quote for it. To be plain about what this page is: it is guidance and a referral, not a call-out service, and nothing here is a promise that anyone is already on their way.
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
Never go into a tank, for any reason
This is the one that kills people. Septic tanks, cesspits and treatment plants are confined spaces. The gases that collect in them, principally hydrogen sulphide, displace oxygen and overwhelm someone within a breath or two, and the smell disappears at dangerous concentrations rather than getting stronger. A grim share of the deaths involve a second person who went in to pull the first one out. If something has fallen in, or someone has gone in, call 999 and wait for people with breathing apparatus.
Reporting a discharge to a watercourse
If sewage or effluent is reaching a ditch, stream or river, report it to the Environment Agency on 0800 80 70 60. The line is staffed around the clock. Reporting promptly is the right thing for the watercourse and it also protects you: the Agency treats a self-reported incident that was acted on very differently from one it discovers later.
Emergencies are usually the end of a long story
Most overflows and backups follow months of warning signs: slow drains, gurgling pipework, odours, a tank well overdue for emptying. The cheapest emergency is the one that became a routine appointment a month earlier. Once the immediate problem is dealt with, it is worth finding out what the system has been trying to tell you.
Emergency Drainage near you
Enquiries for emergency drainage are covered throughout Shropshire. Find the detail for your area:
Frequently asked questions
Sewage has escaped near a stream. Who do I need to tell?
Report it to the Environment Agency incident hotline on 0800 80 70 60, which is staffed around the clock. Do that first, then arrange for someone to deal with the source. Acting quickly and being able to show that you did matters a great deal if the Agency follows the incident up.
Is it safe to lift the tank lid and look inside?
Checking that a cover is in place and secure is sensible. Opening it up and leaning in is not. The gases in a tank can overcome someone in seconds, and an open cover is a drowning risk for children and animals. Leave the inside of the tank to someone with the training and the equipment for confined spaces.
Can this wait until morning?
Often it can, and waiting usually costs less. Sewage inside the house, effluent reaching a watercourse, or a property with no usable toilet are the cases that genuinely should not wait. A tank that is full but contained, or a slow drain that has not yet backed up, will normally keep until working hours if you stop putting water into the system.
What will it cost to sort out?
That depends entirely on the cause, and out-of-hours work costs more than a scheduled visit anywhere in the trade. Ask for the call-out rate and the hourly rate before anyone travels, and get the eventual repair quoted separately once the cause is known. There is no charge for describing your problem here and being pointed in the right direction.
Need emergency drainage?
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.