Blocked drains and drainage services in Cheshire
We're not a Cheshire firm. Our engineers work from the south coast, so we'll give you a price and a real arrival time first.
- Covered from outside the county
- Price and timing before you book
- United Utilities or Welsh Water, explained
For blocked drains in Cheshire, one thing first: My Local Drainage is not based in Cheshire. Our engineers are based in Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch, on the south coast, and we cover Cheshire from there. Crewe, the nearest town on this page, is about 218 miles by road from Christchurch. We have no office, depot or engineer anywhere in the county.
In practice, you get a real arrival time when you call and a fixed price agreed before any work starts, and nothing is booked until you agree. If sewage is coming up inside your home, a drainage company based in Cheshire will almost certainly reach you first. We'll tell you that on the phone rather than leave you waiting.
My Local Drainage is part of the OneFlow Drainage group; the people who carry out the work are engineers from OneFlow Drainage.
What to expect in each Cheshire town
| Town | Postcodes | Public sewers | Road gullies | What to expect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chester | CH1 to CH4 | Welsh Water | Cheshire West and Chester Council | A real arrival time when you call |
| Northwich | CW8, CW9 | United Utilities | Cheshire West and Chester Council | A real arrival time when you call |
| Crewe | CW1, CW2 | United Utilities | Cheshire East Council | A real arrival time when you call |
| Macclesfield | SK10, SK11 | United Utilities | Cheshire East Council | A real arrival time when you call |
| Wilmslow | SK9 | United Utilities | Cheshire East Council | A real arrival time when you call |
| Warrington | WA1 to WA5 | United Utilities | Warrington Borough Council | A real arrival time when you call |
| Runcorn | WA7 | United Utilities | Halton Borough Council | A real arrival time when you call |
| Widnes | WA8 | United Utilities | Halton Borough Council | A real arrival time when you call |
Every town here is over 200 miles by road from our base, so each call gets its own honest answer. If your water bill names a different sewerage company from the one in the table, go by the bill.
The work that suits the distance is anything booked ahead. A homebuyer drain survey, a CCTV drain survey or drain relining goes in the diary for an agreed day, so the long drive is our problem rather than yours.
Cheshire towns on our list
- Chester: most of the city runs on a combined sewer, one pipe carrying both rainwater and waste.
- Northwich: a salt town, where some houses were built on steel girders so they could be jacked level as the ground sank.
- Crewe: a railway town, laid out from 1840 by the Grand Junction Railway's engineer Joseph Locke.
- Macclesfield: the old silk town, with mill buildings still standing.
- Wilmslow: SK9, including Handforth and Styal, where Cheshire East is formally investigating the January 2025 flooding.
- Warrington: where firefighters evacuated 61 people from 87 flooded properties around Southworth Avenue on New Year's Day 2025.
- Runcorn and Widnes: facing each other across the Mersey, both run by Halton Borough Council.
United Utilities, Welsh Water and four councils
Across most of Cheshire, United Utilities owns the public sewers, the shared sewers where several homes' drains meet, and the pipe from your boundary to the sewer. You own the drains in and around your home up to your boundary, unless they're shared. United Utilities takes calls 24 hours a day on 0345 672 3723, and its blocked drains page says that if the blockage turns out to be theirs, they clear it for free.
Chester is the exception. Its sewers and wastewater works belong to Welsh Water (Dŵr Cymru), even though Chester's tap water comes from Severn Trent. Welsh Water's sewerage line, 0800 085 3968, is open 24 hours, and its sewer responsibilities page says it will help work out who owns a pipe if you're unsure.
For road gullies, it depends on the council:
- Cheshire West and Chester (Chester, Northwich): over 86,650 gullies, each cleaned at least once every two years. Check its gully map before reporting.
- Cheshire East (Crewe, Macclesfield, Wilmslow): 100,204 gullies and grids, reported through its traCE system.
- Warrington Borough Council: an online form, or 01925 443322 if flooding is inside a property or blocking a road.
- Halton Borough Council (Runcorn, Widnes): email Highways@halton.gov.uk, or call 0303 333 4300 in an emergency.
Salt, storms and buying a house in mid-Cheshire
Brine pumping left parts of mid-Cheshire prone to subsidence. The Cheshire Brine Subsidence Compensation Board, set up under a 1952 Act, still pays compensation for that damage and prepares search reports for property sales. A salt search tells you about the ground, though, not the pipes in it. A camera survey shows whether a drain has cracked, pulled apart at a joint or dipped so that water sits in it.
Cheshire West and Chester Council's report on Storm Christoph in January 2021 found about 436 homes and businesses affected across 28 areas, 195 of them flooded inside, with drainage networks overloaded in Northwich, Blacon and Ellesmere Port. If every drain in your road backs up in a storm, call the water company first.
Cheshire prices: no extra for the distance
Being further away doesn't put the price up. Cheshire jobs are charged from the same price list as jobs near our base, with unblocking from £80 and CCTV surveys from £150. No call-out fee. The same price day, night, weekends and bank holidays. All prices include VAT.
Cheshire drainage FAQs
Are your engineers based in Cheshire?
No. Our engineers are based in Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch, more than 200 miles from Cheshire by road, and we cover the county from there. We don't have an office, depot or local engineer in Cheshire. Ring us and you'll get a real arrival time when you call and a fixed price before anything is booked.
Who unblocks sewers in Chester?
Welsh Water (Dŵr Cymru). Chester's drinking water comes from Severn Trent, but the sewers and the wastewater works belong to Welsh Water, so a blocked public or shared sewer there goes to them on 0800 085 3968, 24 hours a day. A pipe serving only your home, inside your boundary, stays your responsibility.
Will United Utilities clear my blocked drain?
Only when the problem is in their part of the network: a public sewer, a shared sewer, or the pipe between your boundary and the sewer. Call 0345 672 3723. If you're unsure, United Utilities says it will send someone to check, and it clears its own pipes free. Private drains are down to you.
Should I call you for a sewage emergency in Cheshire?
Ring the water company first if the sewer might be at fault, because their pipes cost you nothing. If it's your own drain and you need someone within the hour, a Cheshire-based firm is likely to be quicker than us. Call anyway and we'll give you an honest time, so you can compare.
Who clears blocked road gullies in Runcorn and Widnes?
Halton Borough Council, which runs the roads in both towns. Email Highways@halton.gov.uk, or ring 0303 333 4300 if it's an emergency. Sewage escaping from a manhole in the road is a sewer problem instead, so report that to United Utilities.
Drains blocked in Cheshire?
Call 0800 246 5347 or send your postcode below. We'll tell you straight: the price, the real arrival time, and whether someone closer would be quicker.