Drainage solution

[inwood]

The rain water goods on my property and that of my neighbours drain to a single downpipe which drains into a 'drain' at front of my property. This is about four foot below road level (we have steps down to our front door).

The existing drain whilst clear is very old (beautifully constructed brick circular drain approx 300mm in diameter). This goes under the steps which lead down to our front door and I suspect used to drain into the canal (now no longer in use and filled in) that ran down the side of our house.

I intend to get a CCTV survey of the drain and determine where it leads however I suspect the answer will be nowhere.

If we assume for the moment the drain doesn't go anywhere I have a singificant amount of water going into what is probably effectively a soakaway under our steps and only four foot from the front of the house. There is signs of movement in the ground above this area which leads me to believe this may be causing an issue.

If we also assume that I need to find an alternative location for this water to go I can think of only one solution - redirecting the output from the downpipe onto the pavement and ultimately onto the road. There is no location to have a proper soakaway (needing a min 5m distance between the house and soakaway).

Any suggestions for alternative solutions. I suspect building control maybe be a good start....

 

[inwood]

Forgot to mention - this is also below the invert level of any mains drainage around the house.

 

[Feltwell]

We had an exisiting tarmac driveway (well past it's best and at all the wrong levels) replaced with another tarmac driveway covering exactly the same area. The runoff from this used to drain across the pavement and onto the road - not allowed now apparently. We put drainage channels in across the bottom of the drive and directed the flow into an exisiting drain on our land - strictly speaking it should have gone to a soakaway or we should have put a permeable driveway in.

Hence I doubt if officially you'll be able to direct the flow onto the pavement. Building Control I agree is a good start.

 

[Penners]

It's not unusual to see surface water downpipes discharging directly on to a pavement, where houses front straight on to that pavement. But I suspect this is a legacy arrangement. I really don't know how you would stand for creating such an arrangement today.

If this is isn't permitted (and yes, BC should be able to tell you), I wonder where you would stand for redirecting your surface water into the drains that run under the road. It might be worth asking, since this is presumably the closest viable alternative.

 

[Flyfisher]

I'm certainly no expert but I believe that suddenly drying out an area of ground can cause ground movement, particularly if the soil is very heavy (clay).

I'm not saying you shouldn't redirect your 'soakaway' or that any movement you've noticed is not a result of all that water leaking out, but I'd be wary of jumping to conclusions - especially if the soakaway has been there for many years and the movement you've noticed is recent.

Having said that, I'm not sure where you could get professional advice. Is this the sort of thing that structural engineers would deal with?

 

[inwood]

Thanks for answers, option to drain to road drains is not possible - we're about 3 foot below invert level of those drains. Whilst I am capable at many things, getting water to go uphill is a little beyond my skills .

Understand about the rapid drying out issue, which is why I want to carry out a CCTV survey before doing anything.

Thinking about this further I think there's a surface water drain that runs under the line of the old canal - which is lower than the drain I need to 'drain'. As the old tunnel is in our garden I might get the spade out and see what I can find. Then I can approach a licensed contractor to make me a new connection (assuming it's a 'live' drain).

 

[robgil]

the drain may have collapsed internally. Can you combine your rain water with your sewage?

 

[Penners]

getting water to go uphill is a little beyond my skills

Oh, come on! Where's your sense of determination?

http://tinyurl.com/33efcwp

 

[philpjuk100]

Ere! thats clever,but would thermo syphon work just as well?

 

[Penners]

Provided you happen to have a thermo about your person.

Oh, and a syphon.

 

[philpjuk100]

CHEERS! (just a splash of tonic!)