Surface water drainage query

HampshireH

We have a small drain cover (see below) in our footpath between two houses and another one in the carpark.

It's never been a problem but due to the neighbours gutters overflowing & their drain cover growing weeds it filled up this summer when we had torrential rain.

I got it cleared and contacted the owner of the neighbouring property to get gutters fixed and their drain deweeded.

I have noticed that the water is sitting quite high within the drain and I'm interested in where it goes

I had assumed we had soakaways as all downpipes on the estate go straight into the ground. But I read this is unlikely as they would need to be away from the properties of & there isn't space for them to be anywhere but directly next to the properties.

Waterboard have no record of any drainage in this part of the estate & have advised me a property search to map out drainage would be a waste of my money as it won't show anything.

Is a CCTV survey worthwhile and what should I be expecting it to find?

EssexExile

HampshireH said:

We have a small drain cover (see below) in our footpath between two houses and another one in the carpark.

It's never been a problem but due to the neighbours gutters overflowing & their drain cover growing weeds it filled up this summer when we had torrential rain.

I got it cleared and contacted the owner of the neighbouring property to get gutters fixed and their drain deweeded.

I have noticed that the water is sitting quite high within the drain and I'm interested in where it goes

I had assumed we had soakaways as all downpipes on the estate go straight into the ground. But I read this is unlikely as they would need to be away from the properties of & there isn't space for them to be anywhere but directly next to the properties.

Waterboard have no record of any drainage in this part of the estate & have advised me a property search to map out drainage would be a waste of my money as it won't show anything.

Is a CCTV survey worthwhile and what should I be expecting it to find?

There's probably a u-bend so water will sit there. If you pour water down it and the level stays the same it's a u-bend. If you pour water down it and the level rises you have a blockage.

As to where it goes - it could be anywhere. Some of ours go to soakaways, some go to the rainwater drains under the road, some go to the sewer system. It's like that with old houses.

HampshireH

Thanks. It's not overflowing in heavy rain so I don't junk it's blocked. It comes with the norm

Are there maps of said rainwater drains? 

It doesn't go to the sewer system according to the waterboard

ComicGeek

If it's a fairly new house, you may find drainage layouts on the local authority planning application website - they sometimes require developers to submit drainage proposals and there may be drawings on there. May not be the same as what was actually built though.

Doozergirl

Plans are notorious for being incorrect.


if there is a blockage, then a CCTV survey is going to find it, as well as the routes.  

Maxson

If the drain has been cleared and drains properly I'm not sure what your concern is. If it ain't broke...
I'm not sure why you need to find out where the drainage pipes go as long as they aren't causing a problem.

HampshireH

Maxson said:

If the drain has been cleared and drains properly I'm not sure what your concern is. If it ain't broke...
I'm not sure why you need to find out where the drainage pipes go as long as they aren't causing a problem.

Because it did overflow and I may get asked when I sell. I'm interested. I'd rather that than not know should I ever need to.

Doozergirl - Thankyou I thought it would be my only option.

It's an 80s build.

Maxson

HampshireH said:

Maxson said:

If the drain has been cleared and drains properly I'm not sure what your concern is. If it ain't broke...
I'm not sure why you need to find out where the drainage pipes go as long as they aren't causing a problem.

Because it did overflow and I may get asked when I sell. I'm interested. I'd rather that than not know should I ever need to.

Doozergirl - Thankyou I thought it would be my only option.

It's an 80s build.

We had Justin from Jetstream http://www.jetstreamdraincleaning.co.uk/ clean and inspect our drain with a CCTV camera. If you're in Hampshire he covers most of the county I think. We found him friendly, helpful and he was careful about not making a mess.

Apodemus

Sounds like it goes to a soakaway - or perhaps goes to where a soakaway should have been made but, "out of sight..." and how many buyers of new houses are interested in the soakaways!   

I think you would be wasting money getting a CCTV inspection as you won't know whether the CCTV is looking at a blockage, a silted-up soakaway, a functioning soakaway or no soakaway at all.  All you will know is how far from the drain, the camera manages to travel.  There is then an obvious benefit to the drain company to suggest that it is a blockage and that you commission them to do extra work to install a new soakaway. 

You already know that it is OK most of the time but is perhaps not sufficient to cope with extreme weather events.  So it all boils down to whether you think the problem merits the cost of digging out and installing a better soakaway or not.   During heavy rain, is there surface water threatening the house itself?

Maxson

Apodemus said:

Sounds like it goes to a soakaway - or perhaps goes to where a soakaway should have been made but, "out of sight..." and how many buyers of new houses are interested in the soakaways!   

I think you would be wasting money getting a CCTV inspection as you won't know whether the CCTV is looking at a blockage, a silted-up soakaway, a functioning soakaway or no soakaway at all.  All you will know is how far from the drain, the camera manages to travel.  There is then an obvious benefit to the drain company to suggest that it is a blockage and that you commission them to do extra work to install a new soakaway. 

You already know that it is OK most of the time but is perhaps not sufficient to cope with extreme weather events.  So it all boils down to whether you think the problem merits the cost of digging out and installing a better soakaway or not.   During heavy rain, is there surface water threatening the house itself?

I tend to agree that cctv would be unnecessary but if it gives greater peace of mind for what should be less than £100 it could be considered worth it. The good thing about Justin is that he will give practical advice and not try to spend all your money on things you don't need. At least that's how he was with us. 

Phil4432

Your neighbors need to maintain their property a bit better, and not have their gutters overflowing.  Write a polite and firm anonymous letter to the peasants, telling them to get the gutters fixed.