Blocked Drains

Are your drains or sewers blocked or flooded? Please visit Irish Water or call 1800 278 278 for assistance.

Private drains

Householders are responsible for blockages in private drains, just as for sinks, baths, toilets, or outside pipes. A blocked private drain can cause a public health nuisance, so householders can be prosecuted under the Public Health Acts if they fail to maintain private drains.

Shared drains

In housing estates, shared drains often serve many houses. Shared drainage is a conventional method of linking many houses to the public sewer via a single connection. Developers lay the shared drain in back gardens and install several inspection manholes to facilitate rodding—a method experienced plumbers use to clean out your plumbing system. At times, it’s the only way to remove a blockage in your drain or pipe.

Defects in the pipe, or abuse of the drain, can cause blockages. Householders can help prevent blockages by refraining from flushing items such as disposable nappies, baby wipes, cooking oil, or grease into the system. These items can collect in the interceptor trap in the final private outfall manhole, leading to overflows into the garden area.

Residents connected to the drain before it connects to the public sewer are responsible for maintaining the private service connections—including those in the garden.

Residents served by the drain should decide among themselves the responsibility for clearing blockages or repairing defects in these drains. Individual householders should also agree on the sharing of liability and cost. Remember to Think Before You Flush and help prevent blockages in drains and sewers.