Road surface water run off

benjo

Bit of a story, so grab a cuppa, get comfortable and many thanks for taking the time to read this.

I recently moved into a house (April) and since then have had the benefit of lovely weather, apart from one day when it absolutely tipped it down for a couple of hours. During this rainfall we aquired an impressive 'stream' of water running past our door to the lowest point of the garden - where it did soak away after a few hours. We werent at risk of the house flooding, but had to wade through 2 - 3 inches of water to get out and if it had carried on raining for a couple of days - who knows!

The houses on the opposite side of the road are built on higher ground so any surface water runs down their drives onto the road - ok so far since you would think that the road drains would get rid of some of this water. Not so much luck, there is only one road drain within sight of the house and this drain sits in the middle of the road up a slight incline from all but one house (also since it is in the middle of the road - it is higher than the curb side of the road so the water runs along the side of the road and never reaches the drain).

So, the rain runs off the 'higher' side of the road, runs along our garden wall and then into our garden - the lowest point.

I rang the local authority for advice and they told me that it was my responsibility to 'put a curb in place to deflect the road water' (there are no pavements) and that in a flash flood, the road drains couldnt cope anyway. Well they certainly cant cope here, since they are on higher ground than the flow of water.

The nice man explained that I should fit a 25mm curb to deflect the water - my concern is that I will be deflecting the water straight into my neighbours gateway and path which leads to their front door.

Has anyone fitted one of these dropped curbs?

If I fit one of these curbs and as a consequence my neighbours (elderly man selling his house as he is now in nursing home care so the house is empty) property is flooded - how much trouble am I going to be in?

Arent the Highways authorities responsible for ensuring that road drainage is 'effective'?

Any thoughts/advice greatly appreciated.

Kiran

If the road is an adopted highway the it is the highway department who is responsible for maintaining the road. They also have the responsibility of containing and disposing of all the surface water on it.

You would be better off ringing the highways department of your tow/city and asking them to come out an have a look. You would have a much better case if you had photo evidence, although visually it should be apparent that there is a problem. Do not allow them to do anything as a "quick fix" for example fitting a path eging that you drive over everyday will be the equivalent to driving over a speed up on your suspension. They need a proper solution.

The above advice only holds true if the highway has been adopted though. If it hasn't then unfortunately the cost would be to yourself and the other house owners.

HTH

benjo

thanks for the reply, yes it is an adopted road and the highways authority acknowledge that it is their responsibility to maintain the road drainage. I did ring them and asked 'why not put another drain in/move the drain so that water can reach it ie not at the highest point in the road'. Their reason for not doing anything was

1. You havent lived there long enough to know if it is a problem or not - they suggest I monitor the situation.

2. They expect householders to do all they can to prevent flooding themselves - so install a kerb at your own cost and if it floods your neighbours property - well thats not your problem is it?

3. We cant just dig up a road, it costs alot of money you know and we have to protect the tax payer (payed tax all my life!!!!).

4. We have a list of priorities, so any work would be added to the bottom of the list.

5. Road drains cant cope with flash floods (honestly, I didnt consider this to be a flash flood) and so there is no point in putting in more, because they wouldnt cope anyway.

Im happy to make any improvements that are my responsibility - but I dont hold with flooding my neighbours property in the process 'not being my problem'.

Kiran

benjo wrote: »

thanks for the reply, yes it is an adopted road and the highways authority acknowledge that it is their responsibility to maintain the road drainage. I did ring them and asked 'why not put another drain in/move the drain so that water can reach it ie not at the highest point in the road'. Their reason for not doing anything was

1. You havent lived there long enough to know if it is a problem or not - they suggest I monitor the situation.There is some truth in this, which is why I was suggesting you take photos or better still a video, however this does not absolve them of any responsibility

2. They expect householders to do all they can to prevent flooding themselves - so install a kerb at your own cost and if it floods your neighbours property - well thats not your problem is it? Since Oct 2008 if you had wanted to resurface your driveway with a wall out onto the main road you would require planning permission, which by the sounds of it, would never get approved due to the poor drainage. This condition came in as the councils decided to blame the floods on people paving their gardens to deflect from the poorly maintained drainage networks that were in place.

3. We cant just dig up a road, it costs alot of money you know and we have to protect the tax payer (payed tax all my life!!!!). Protect the taxpayer by letting his house get recked.......defies logic really.

4. We have a list of priorities, so any work would be added to the bottom of the list. If you want to move it up the list of priorities then get photos/videos and send them to your local paper asking "if the council think that its beter to let houses get flooded and repaired by isurance companies rather than use their budget to maintain the roads/drainage??"

5. Road drains cant cope with flash floods (honestly, I didnt consider this to be a flash flood) and so there is no point in putting in more, because they wouldnt cope anyway. Drainage systems are designed with the 100 year storm taken into account, either they are saying that they have installed an incorrectly designed network or that they have have ancient drainage that could do with being replaced anyway!

Im happy to make any improvements that are my responsibility - but I dont hold with flooding my neighbours property in the process 'not being my problem'.

Don't let it go, if you're not happy then keep on at them. After all you're taxes are paying their wages, get value for your money!!

ormus

dont get your hopes up too high.
we used to live in an avenue which was crescent shaped. the bottom of the avenue was much lower than the top. (we lived at the upper end).
every time it rained heavy the avenue would flood at the lower end. some times it nearly reached our house.
despite many many request by the residents, the local council and the thames water company took over 10 yrs to sort it out.

Kiran

ormus wrote: »

dont get your hopes up too high.
we used to live in an avenue which was crescent shaped. the bottom of the avenue was much lower than the top. (we lived at the upper end).
every time it rained heavy the avenue would flood at the lower end. some times it nearly reached our house.
despite many many request by the residents, the local council and the thames water company took over 10 yrs to sort it out.

Unfortunately it can be a slow process, however with flooding in the news in recent years you may have a bit more clout