Hi,
Firstly, excellent site!
My problem is that I have moved into a house this summer with clay waterlogged soil and when it rains heavily, puddles form in flower beds - can live with that. The surrounding area has springs although none on my land, or so I thought. The last month or so there has been a constant trickle of water running from where my patterned concrete drive meets the pavement. Suddenly it's cold and the pavement and road are freezing up because of the water coming from the join. Water board says it's not mains water, council been out and no help. Could you please advise who might be able to help? Neighbours have suggested that as house from back to front in on quite a hill, that water is draining under house and coming out at lowest point, so would drainage in back garden help? Long story I know...sorry. Would a general builder be a first port of call?
Ground water running over pavement/road - Advice needed for clueless
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lutonlagerlout
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Tony McC
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It's groundwater from the plot using the disturbed ground and/or sub-base beneath that PIC driveway as an easy escape route. It may be supplemented by a local spring but only extensive and expensive investigatory work could prove that one way or t'other and all to no avail.
The PIC installers should have predicted this outcome and installed an interceptor drain at the threshold, but I'm probably expecting too much. Annoyingly, if this had been a recent installation they would have been legally obliged (sort of) to install an interceptor, but then so many of these alleged interceptors don't actually connect to a suitable outfall. They are simply a line of channels with the end caps missing, so the result would be pretty much what you have now.
You could retro-fit an interceptor, but to where could it drain?
Alternativley, you could wait for some poor sod to go a over t on that ice, on the public footpath, and then watch the bloody council suddenly spring (ha ha!) into action!
The PIC installers should have predicted this outcome and installed an interceptor drain at the threshold, but I'm probably expecting too much. Annoyingly, if this had been a recent installation they would have been legally obliged (sort of) to install an interceptor, but then so many of these alleged interceptors don't actually connect to a suitable outfall. They are simply a line of channels with the end caps missing, so the result would be pretty much what you have now.
You could retro-fit an interceptor, but to where could it drain?
Alternativley, you could wait for some poor sod to go a over t on that ice, on the public footpath, and then watch the bloody council suddenly spring (ha ha!) into action!
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Lexy
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Thank you so much for your comprehensive answer. To retro fit, would that need the drive taking up? What legal responsibility do you suppose I have with this issue? As the neighbours tell me that the drive has been down for some years and never this problem, could it be that if we have less rainfall in future, that it will stop 'leaking'?
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Tony McC
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To retro-fit, you'd need to saw off a strip roughly 125-150mm wide at the end of the driveway where it meets the public footpath, then excavate to depth-of-channel + 150mm. install the channel and then fit comnnecting pipework to a drainage point. And that is goiung to be the big problem: where is there a suitable drainage point?
Legally, it's a very grey area. It can be argued that it's a natural phenomenon therefore you have no responsibility, and that any liability lies with the council as agents for the highways, but they might get some smart-arse lawyer to argue that, as the landowner, you should have taken steps to prevent an identifiable risk developing.
The real risk to you is the fact that society has become so bleeding litigious thanks to the "blame and claim" culture that's been promoted by the legal profession over recent years. Someone slips, laddering their tights or scuffing their brogues, and they launch a multi-thousand pound, holiday-in-Florida sized claim against the council. The council say the ice is coming from your property, and so pass it on to your insurers as a claim on your public liability (which most home insurance policies feature), and if it's successful, your policy costs go up. Your insurer might challenge, and they could well be successful. I'm not a lawyer (I do have *some* dignity!) so I can't even begin to guess how it would go, but for now, I'd be double-checking my home insurance to ensure I have the public liability cover!
Legally, it's a very grey area. It can be argued that it's a natural phenomenon therefore you have no responsibility, and that any liability lies with the council as agents for the highways, but they might get some smart-arse lawyer to argue that, as the landowner, you should have taken steps to prevent an identifiable risk developing.
The real risk to you is the fact that society has become so bleeding litigious thanks to the "blame and claim" culture that's been promoted by the legal profession over recent years. Someone slips, laddering their tights or scuffing their brogues, and they launch a multi-thousand pound, holiday-in-Florida sized claim against the council. The council say the ice is coming from your property, and so pass it on to your insurers as a claim on your public liability (which most home insurance policies feature), and if it's successful, your policy costs go up. Your insurer might challenge, and they could well be successful. I'm not a lawyer (I do have *some* dignity!) so I can't even begin to guess how it would go, but for now, I'd be double-checking my home insurance to ensure I have the public liability cover!
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Tony McC
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To use a pumped system, what we call a rising drain, you need a collection chamber and a reliable pump with a float switch.
Somewhere on this sprawling site is a bit of info about installing a small wet well with a rising drain to cope with residential surface water drainage, but can I bkloody find it? It's not even showing up on a Googly Serach, but I do have the drawing I did to accompany the text....
They are pretty easy to install and in all honesty, I doubt very much that it is the sort of job that a PIC Contractor would want. There are specialist wet well installers, but they work out as quite pricey for these small jobs. A good drainage contractor, groundworker or competent builder should be able to help but you also need a qualified electrician to do the wiring-up.
Somewhere on this sprawling site is a bit of info about installing a small wet well with a rising drain to cope with residential surface water drainage, but can I bkloody find it? It's not even showing up on a Googly Serach, but I do have the drawing I did to accompany the text....
They are pretty easy to install and in all honesty, I doubt very much that it is the sort of job that a PIC Contractor would want. There are specialist wet well installers, but they work out as quite pricey for these small jobs. A good drainage contractor, groundworker or competent builder should be able to help but you also need a qualified electrician to do the wiring-up.
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