Rainwater drainage. Advice needed please

echoskye

I live in a 30s semi. There is a shared front downpipe serving the guttering on both semi’s and this is located on my side of the boundary. The house is on a slight bank and my house is the lower of the two properties.

The problem I have is that the rainwater from the downpipe (which is above ground) appears to discharge nowhere other than into my front garden. With all the rain recently this is now completely waterlogged. You literally sink into the ground when you walk on it. I am also worried about what this amount of water could be doing to my house.

On looking at the area I’ve discovered that there is a channel near the downpipe which runs to a hole in the front garden wall and have noticed that some other neighbours have what looks like a kind of gutter running along this. Presumably this discharges the water from their front downpipes straight into the street.

Someone told me that it is not legal to discharge rainwater into the street in this way but, as I imagine something similar has been there in the past and it appears to be what other neighbours have in place, I wonder if it would be ok for me to get something like this sorted in my property?

I’ve tried to ask my neighbours about drainage, what was in place in the past etc but they don’t want to know. They are an elderly couple who seem very set in their ways and I suspect wary of incurring any costs to themselves.

Any advice on improving this situation (the drainage, not the neighbours) would be greatly appreciated.

cootuk

Where's the nearest official drain?

echoskye

It is about 10 metres down the street. One of those grid things ?gutter (excuse my ignorance - I don't know an awful lot about this kind of thing). Most of the neighbouring houses who have this kind of set up (ie, what looks like a drain pipe going through their wall and straight onto the path/road) are even further away. There is a gully at the back of the house and the rear downpipe goes straight into that but there's nothing at the front, except this channel and the hole in the wall.

phill99

I live in a Su liar situation although in a terrace. Most people ave just added an elbow piece and an additional length of downpipe to the bottom of the existing downpipe and discharged the water into the street.

The person that told you about discharging water into the street, was he a man in the pub? I've not heard of that and you will find in many areas it s common practice. If you get a handy man in to do it it won't cost more than £100.

echoskye

Thanks Phil99. It was a man in a pub who told me that actually! I will see if I can get someone to sort it, before I have a lake instead of a lawn.

tradesman82

Hi.. you have been advised correctly regarding the discharge of water into the street! regulation regarding this have recently changed and you are expected to harvest the water on your own property and not place further demand on the public drains. However if your property is as old as you say, and there is an existing channel to the street in place it would be very difficult to say that by placing a pipe from your down pipe out over the garden as you say the neighbors have done you would never know it was not there originally. a sump on your property wouldalso solve the problem though would cost alot more to install. Hopethis helps, lee - flow-rite roofline services