About us
Built on evidence, not guesswork
Emergency Drainage London exists because too many drainage jobs get diagnosed by ear. We built the company around the camera — every job starts with a CCTV survey, a defect code and a written record, so the repair that follows is based on what the pipe actually shows, not a guess.
What we do in London
We diagnose London drains before we quote a repair — a CCTV survey with defect coding and a written report, so the fix that follows is based on footage, not a guess at the door.
Around that core sit the surveys managing agents, surveyors and insurers actually rely on: drain tracing to map a run before any work starts, and manhole inspection as part of the same evidence-led process.
We cover all 33 London boroughs. Not as a slogan — the borough pages describe how each area's housing stock actually fails, because knowing that before we arrive is part of the job.
What we promise
- CCTV survey before any repair is recommended
- Fixed price agreed before we travel
- Written defect report available on every survey
- Repair method chosen from the footage, not a guess
- Clean, tidy work with photographic and video records
- Straight answers, including when a repair can wait
How we work
Camera before conclusion
Nothing gets quoted for repair until the CCTV survey has run and the defect is coded and located. Diagnosis comes from footage, not a guess at the door.
Defect coding, not a vague description
Cracks, root ingress, displaced joints and collapses are logged against standard drainage defect classifications, not summarised as “it's blocked.”
A written report on every survey
Every CCTV survey can produce a report with footage, distances and defect codes — the same standard a managing agent, insurer or surveyor expects.
Repair recommendations that follow the evidence
The footage decides whether a job is jetting, relining or excavation — not which crew happens to be on the van that day.
On every van
The kit that turns a guess into a diagnosis
CCTV drain survey
A push-rod or crawler camera records the full run, logging defects against distance so the report is precise, not approximate.
Drain tracing
A transmitter and locator establish the exact route and depth of a drain run before any excavation is even considered.
Manhole repair
Chamber inspection and repair, assessed and coded the same way as the pipe run itself.
Root cutting
Root ingress cleared once the survey has confirmed it as the cause, not assumed from symptoms alone.
From camera to written diagnosis
01
Tell us the symptoms
Postcode, property type, what's happening. We use that to quote a fixed fee for a full CCTV survey.
02
Agree the fee before travel
No surprise call-out multipliers announced on the doorstep. Out-of-hours bands are stated when you book.
03
CCTV survey and defect coding on site
We run the camera the full length of the accessible run, coding every defect found against its position.
04
Written report and repair recommendation
You get the footage, a defect-coded report, and a repair recommendation that follows directly from what the survey found.
About EDL — FAQs
Do you do repairs, or only surveys?
Both. The survey comes first because it decides the right repair method — jetting, relining or excavation — rather than guessing from symptoms at the door.
Do you cover all of London?
Yes — all 33 Greater London boroughs. See our areas hub for local pages, or contact Emergency Drainage London with your postcode for an arrival window and fixed price.
What's actually in a CCTV survey report?
Footage of the full accessible run, defect codes and their distance from the access point, and a written summary. It's built to the standard a managing agent, surveyor or insurer can act on directly.
Can a survey help with buying a property or a dispute?
Yes. A dated, defect-coded report is exactly the kind of evidence used to settle a shared-drain dispute or answer a pre-purchase drainage question.
How do you price jobs?
The CCTV survey is a fixed fee agreed before we travel. See the pricing page for the current structure. Any repair work is quoted separately once the survey confirms the cause.
Get the diagnosis in writing
A CCTV survey gives you footage, defect codes and a written report — the evidence a repair decision should actually be based on.