The Brew Cabin

Hi Tony

Congratulations on a Brilliant site.

I have been having some problems with drainage on my property. My surface water at the moment goes to a ditch 60 mts away,the problem is that the pipe (4 inch Dia ) cannot seem to take the volume when I get heavy rain, this backs up causing problems

This run of pipe also goes under neighbouring property making access difficult .
I have re-routed half of my roof water into a natural water course (not an option for surface water) and hope this will alleviate the problem . Next winter I will know for certain .

I have got a large drain in the road outside my house and I could get a fall into this , the problem is that this is a Road drain not a mains drains will I need permission from the highway agency to access it.

I cannot drain into a soak-away because of a high water table.

My only other alternative is to pump it into the garden via Tank and float pump (could I use this system for watering my garden in summer?)


Regards,

Nigel

Hi Nigel,

firstly, why does this 60m run of pipe back up? Is it silted up, or is it because the outfall is restricted or submerged during wet episodes? The pipe itself has a capacity of over 450 litres, which isn't a massive amount, but, depending on the size of the area being drained, I would expect it to offer some level of storage without surcharging.

Anyway, the option to connect to the main sewer under the road. For this, you mustget permission from your Local Authority, who act as agents for the Water Company, and they will impose certain conditions, assuming they sanction the connection. These may include use of their own work force or an approved contractor, construction of a drag-out MH prior to the connection, construction of a Sewers for Adoption 4thEd. MH on the connection itself...it can all get to be quite complicated and well beyond the remit of a DIY'er. A typical connection beneath a public highway would cost something in the region of £5,000-£10,000, and considerably more if it's a busy road, or there are other factors to consider.

Your notion of pump storing the water is technically possible in most cases, but you first need to know the sort of volumes involved, and you still need some provision for overflow discharge. What we're you planning to use for storage? A pond or a tank of some form? If you consider the volumes involved in storing surface water, especially if you have a largish area, then any tank has to be HUGE.

From what you've told us so far, I rekon your best course of action is to find out why the existing pipe and outfall are not performing as they should. It might be that a good clean out with a high-pressure jet, or a bit of ditch-clearing is all that's needed.