What Does a Drain Survey Report Include?

When you commission a CCTV drain survey, you are not just paying for someone to put a camera down a pipe — you are paying for the report that comes afterwards. That report is the part you keep, share with your solicitor, send to your lender and refer back to when work needs doing. Knowing what a professional report should contain helps you judge whether you have received good value and, just as importantly, whether the assessment is one a third party will accept. Here is exactly what a thorough drain survey report includes and why each part matters.

High-definition footage with timestamps

At the heart of every report is the recorded camera footage. A CCTV drain survey uses a high-definition camera fed through the drainage system, capturing the full length of each run as it travels. Good footage is timestamped and, wherever possible, tagged with the distance travelled along the pipe, so anything noted in the written assessment can be matched to the exact moment and location on the video. That footage is supplied to you in a format you can play back, pause and forward to anyone who needs to see it for themselves.

A written condition assessment of each run

Footage alone is hard to interpret if you are not an engineer, which is why the written assessment is so valuable. A trained surveyor reviews the video and records clear observations of every drain run inspected — the pipe material and diameter where it can be established, the direction of flow, and any feature of note encountered along the way. Each observation is described in plain terms and cross-referenced to its position in the footage, turning hours of video into a document you can actually read and act upon.

Defect locations and severity

Where the survey identifies a problem, the report sets out precisely where it is and how serious it is. Rather than a vague note that "something is wrong", you receive the location of each defect — measured along the run and tied to a chamber or access point — together with an assessment of its severity. The faults typically logged include:

• Cracks and fractures — early-stage damage that may worsen if left, recorded with its position and extent.
• Collapses and deformation — structural failures that usually demand prompt attention.
• Root ingress — roots penetrating joints and restricting flow, graded by how far they intrude.
• Displaced or open joints — sections shifted out of alignment, allowing leaks and silt build-up.
• Blockages, debris and silting — obstructions that reduce capacity, noted with their location and cause where known.

Industry-standard defect coding

A professional report does not describe defects in arbitrary language — it uses recognised industry coding so the findings mean the same thing to any qualified reader. In the UK, surveys are commonly reported in line with the WRc (Water Research Centre) Manual of Sewer Condition Classification, widely known as the MSCC. This standardised scheme gives each type of defect a consistent code and classification, allowing the condition of a drain to be recorded objectively rather than left to one engineer's opinion. Reporting to a recognised standard is one of the things that makes a survey credible to the professionals who later rely on it.

Recommendations and next steps

A report that simply lists problems leaves you none the wiser about what to do. A good one closes with clear recommendations: which defects need attention now, which can be monitored, and what the likely remedial options are — from cleaning and de-rooting through to lining or excavation where a pipe has failed. These recommendations help you weigh up the work involved and budget for it sensibly. If you would like to understand what a survey itself costs before you book, our drain survey cost page sets everything out clearly with no obligation.

Accepted by solicitors, lenders, insurers and conveyancers

Because a professional report combines recorded footage, a written assessment and standardised defect coding, it stands up to outside scrutiny. That makes it suitable to submit to solicitors and conveyancers during a property transaction, to mortgage lenders who want evidence of the drainage condition, and to insurers assessing a claim or a policy. A clearly presented, properly coded report carries far more weight than a verbal account or a handful of unexplained photographs.

The report is yours to keep and share

One point worth being clear on: the report belongs to you. Once the survey is complete and you have paid for it, the footage and written assessment are yours to keep, store and pass on as you see fit. You can forward it to your solicitor, hand it to a prospective buyer, supply it to your insurer or simply file it for future reference. There is no ongoing licence and nothing held back — a thorough survey leaves you with a complete, lasting record of the condition of your drains that you own outright.