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Report a problem with a drain or gully

Responsibility for sewers and drains is shared between property owners, Yorkshire Water, National Highways, and the council, depending on the type and location of the drain.

Drains on your property

You're responsible for the repair and maintenance of the drains inside the boundary of your property, up to the point they connect with the public sewer.

Although we're not responsible for repairing drains on your property, we do have a statutory duty to make sure that you keep them clear and in good repair. If you don't, we can issue a notice asking you to make the repairs within a set timescale. We may charge you an administration cost for doing this. If you don't comply with the notice, we’ll make the repairs and invoice you for the cost of any works we’ve done. 

Public sewers

Yorkshire Water are responsible for maintaining the network of foul and surface water public sewers, which collect water and waste from the drains of properties.

Public sewers are usually in roads or public open spaces, but some may run through private gardens. Yorkshire Water has a right of access to these sewers for maintenance.

You can contact Yorkshire Water by calling 0345 1242424.

Trunk road and motorway drains

National Highways are responsible for drains on trunk roads and motorways.

You can contact National Highways by calling 0300 123 5000.

Drains and gullies on council roads

We're responsible for keeping the drains and gullies alongside Barnsley's roads clean and free from obstruction, to prevent flooding. These drains/gullies take storm water from the road into the sewer system.

Before reporting a problem with a drain or gully

Before you report a blocked street drain or gully on one of our roads, or a missing/loose grate, you can check if the problem's already been reported to us using the map below. If the problem you're reporting isn't on the map, you can tell us about it using our online form.

Reported flooding and drainage issues map

How to make a report

You can use our form to report a problem with a drain or gully alongside Barnsley's roads, apart from:

  • those on trunk roads, such as the:

    • A61 (from M1 J36 to the A616 roundabout)

    • A616 (from M1 J35A to the A628 Flouch roundabout)

    • A628 (from Flouch roundabout to the borough boundary at Saltersbrook Bridge)

      Contact National Highways on 0300 123 5000 to report a drain or gully problem on these roads.

  • overflowing public sewers - contact Yorkshire Water on 0345 1242424

You'll need to show us on a map where the blockage is by clicking to drop a pin. You'll also need to tell us as much detail as you can about the blockage. You can upload a photo of the blocked drain as well, if you have one.

You can make your report anonymously, but if you'd like a receipt and reference number you need to tell us your email address.

If the blocked drain's causing flooding involving deep/fast flowing water and damage to roads, bridges or structures, call our 24 hour emergency helpline on 01226 773555 or email us at highwaydrainage@barnsley.gov.uk.

Reports won't be picked up outside office hours or over bank holidays.  If there is a missing gully or manhole cover during these times please call 01226 773555.

After you've made your report

After you've submitted the form the drainage problem you’ve reported will appear as a pin on the map. You might need to wait a couple of minutes and refresh your screen to be able to see the status of your report. The pin will stay on the map for at least 28 days, during which time you can come back to the webpage to check the status of your report. Once the pin drops off the map you won't be able make further enquiries about your report, unless you have your reference number.

What we'll do

We'll investigate the problem as soon as we can, but we'll prioritise problems that could potentially be environmental or public health hazards.

If we can't find a blocked drain/gully or a missing/loose grate when we visit the site you've reported to us, and we don't have details to contact you for more information, we'll close the report.