Irish couple find drains blocked by collapsed sewage pipe

DRAINS and sewers: no-one thinks about them until they cause problems. Ray and Anne Flaherty, an Irish couple from Villalonga in the Safor district, recently found out what can happen when things go wrong.

Noticing that their drains were increasingly slow to empty and had begun to smell atrociously, they called a drain-cleaning company to unclog what they assumed were blocked pipes.

Instead, the drains backed up once work started and the sink, shower tray and bidet overflowed with untreated sewage.

The blockage was probably caused by a collapsed sewage pipe where it joined the main drain, the drain-cleaners suggested.  There was also a possibility that it had never been connected at all, as has happened with other properties in the area, they said.

Villalonga town hall was unable to help as the town’s water supply and main drainage are now outsourced to Aguas de Valencia.

In the past the town hall would have solved the problem, claimed a council source.  Now, however, householders are responsible for repairs between their homes and the main drain, Aguas de Valencia told Mr and Mrs Flaherty.

The couple, who are meanwhile unable to use their lavatories, showers or baths, have now started legal proceedings.