How Do You Get Rid of Surface Water?
Surface water is a common problem for many households and properties across the country.
An excessive build-up can lead to flooding, which in turn can cause many more unwanted problems and dangers in your home.
Surface water drainage systems, such as soakaways or attenuation tanks, allow you to control surface water to avoid flooding, as do more traditional structures like patios, driveways and gutters. In this article, we consider ways to prevent a build-up of surface water and how to remove it from your property.
What Is Surface Water?
Surface water is excess rainwater that’s fallen, or groundwater that’s risen and needs to be drained away.
It can collect after heavy rainfall and if the ground becomes waterlogged.
You’ll see pools of water collecting, usually in the garden or on the driveway.
The most common cause of surface water is heavy rainfall, snowfall, or saturated surfaces that can no longer hold any more liquid.
Ordinarily, surface water will be channelled into the local sewer system using gutters, drains and other housing infrastructure, after falling onto the roof or driveway.
Local councils usually drain surface water through the sewers and charge you for this service.
In cases where a property doesn’t have access to the local sewer system (rural areas where a septic tank is needed, for instance), surface water drainage needs to be dealt with in other ways. In other situations, the volume of water might not be able to be drained through the existing systems or a property owner might decide it’s more cost-effective to drain their own surface water rather than paying fees to the local authorities.
Why Is Surface Water a Problem?
Surface water is a natural occurrence, but it becomes a problem when it can’t be drained away effectively.
The most immediate problem is that excess surface water leads to flooding, and this is a issue that needs to be dealt with quickly.
Flooding can cause structural damage to your home if water begins to seep into the foundations, which is why surface water needs to be directed away from a building.
But it can also cause structural damage to your driveway or to fences, walls, or sheds.
Surface water can be a health and safety hazard, creating wet surfaces or deep puddles, while it can also cause damage to your garden and to plants and grass in the flooded area.
In winter, surface water can freeze over, becoming dangerous to both pedestrians and vehicles, while all through the year moss and algae attracted by the moisture will be slippery underfoot. While these problems pose obvious concerns for health and safety, they’re also costly to repair, which is why it’s important to have an efficient drainage system in place to deal with excess surface water.
Surface water is a natural occurrence, but it becomes a problem when it can’t be drained away effectively.
The most immediate problem is that excess surface water leads to flooding, and this is a issue that needs to be dealt with quickly.
Flooding can cause structural damage to your home if water begins to seep into the foundations, which is why surface water needs to be directed away from a building.
But it can also cause structural damage to your driveway or to fences, walls, or sheds.
Surface water can be a health and safety hazard, creating wet surfaces or deep puddles, while it can also cause damage to your garden and to plants and grass in the flooded area.
In winter, surface water can freeze over, becoming dangerous to both pedestrians and vehicles, while all through the year moss and algae attracted by the moisture will be slippery underfoot. While these problems pose obvious concerns for health and safety, they’re also costly to repair, which is why it’s important to have an efficient drainage system in place to deal with excess surface water.
The Importance of Patios, Driveways and Lawns for Tackling Surface Water
Homes and buildings are already designed to deal with surface water, and patios, driveways and lawns all play an important role in coping with it.
Patios help to drain water away from the walls of your home and, importantly, away from the foundations.
Gravel or stone patios can help to absorb surface water and allow it to drain away naturally, while plants and soil around the patio can help to absorb the draining water too.
Patios need to be angled away from a property in order to drain away water effectively.
Driveways play an important role because they help to direct surface water away from your home and absorb large quantities of excess liquids too.
It’s important to choose the right material, however, because tarmac or concrete isn’t particularly absorbent and can lead to excess pooling.
A better option is gravel or stone.
As with patios, a driveway should be built on an incline where possible, so surface water can drain away naturally.
Lawns also help to control surface water.
A good one will allow excess liquid to slowly drain through into the ground. Try to keep yours healthy and fresh. This helps with absorption and creates a level area for water to drain evenly.
How to Get Rid of Surface Water
If you’re having trouble with excess surface water starting to flood or pool around your property, you want to act quickly to get rid of it.
You should start by checking your existing drains and gutters, to ensure there are no blockages that might be disrupting the flow of water.
While this won’t drain any water that’s already pooled, it will stop more from collecting in the same spot if this is the issue.
You can also check your roofing, because a damaged or uneven roof can cause water to pool where it shouldn’t be.
If surface water is pooling in your garden, you need to ensure that the lawn has been properly levelled.
This means that it has an even surface and tilts away from the house. You can further help absorption by planting areas of vegetation and soil at the back and sides of your garden, where surface water is likely to run.
Types of Surface Water Drainage
If you have persistent problems, you might need to look at remodelling your garden, patio, or driveway to help with the problem.
A professional will survey your existing drainage solutions and come up with the most efficient and environment-friendly solution.
In certain circumstances, they might suggest installing permanent installations to help your property better cope with disposing of surface water.
Attenuation Tanks
Attenuation tanks are built below ground to store excess surface water.
Surface water is directed towards the attenuation tank, where it is kept and slowly released at a comfortable rate that lets water drain away naturally and prevents it from pooling.
They’re a great way to get rid of surface water if you have a really persistent problem or if you aren’t connected to the mains sewerage system.
They grant you more control over the flow of surface water than you would otherwise have.
Soakaways
Soakaways are commonly associated with septic tanks or sewage treatment plants, but they also play a big role in controlling surface water.
In the most basic terms, a soakaway is a hole in the ground that’s been filled with rocks and gravel.
It works in much the same way (in principle) as a gravel patio or rocky driveway does.
Loose rocks and gravel help to absorb water and store it, allowing it to be released slowly back into the ground away from the property. Soakaways are usually set up to deal with discharge from a septic tank, but they can be set up to gather water from gutters and rain.
Maintaining and Installing Drains
The most common form of surface water drainage is a common drain, which works to direct water away from a property and towards a sewer system (or, if there is no sewer connection, towards a soakaway or other discharge area).
Outside drains are probably the most important way to battle excess surface water, so you need to ensure that they’re installed in the right places and well maintained.
If you need to create a new system to cope with large volumes of surface water, you’ll need to meet requirements such as building regulations (our professional team at OMDI can help with all these legalities).
Once drains have been installed, they need to be maintained or problems will arise.
They should only be used for surface water, so don’t pour away food waste or direct sewage into the drainage system.
Other types of waste have to go elsewhere.
If you install open gutters, it’s easy for them to get clogged up with debris.
You need to keep them clear of leaves, large foreign objects, and anything else that might cause a blockage.
If surface water can’t drain, then pipes can overflow or burst causing more flooding and more damage.
Contact OMDI Today for a Free Quote
At OMDI, we have years of experience draining surface water and installing surface water drainage systems.
We can advise on the best solutions for your drainage needs, and offer cost-effective and efficient solutions to keep your property free of excess surface water.
We can design and install a wide range of drainage systems that will meet all local requirements and regulations, and provide an effective method of surface water drainage.
We can also help to repair and maintain existing surface water removal systems.
If your home or property has a problem with surface water, give our expert team a call to find out how we can provide a solution.Contact OMDI today to find out more about the prevention and elimination of surface water.
