We all want to avoid flooding or standing water inside and around the house, so maintaining your stormwater system, especially your stormwater drain, is crucial.
Stormwater drains allow water to flow from the houses and roads into other water bodies, preventing water accumulation. If there are any problems with your stormwater systems, particularly the drains, and you experience blocked stormwater drains, you could face flooding and damage to your property. But this can be remedied easily.
Taking care of your stormwater system, particularly your stormwater drains, also includes looking at downpipes and gutters in your house. If your stormwater system, particularly your stormwater drain, is in good condition and you don’t have stormwater drain blockages, your stormwater drainage and stormwater pipes will let the water accumulate on the roof and sides of the house flow away quickly.
Some plumbing systems also have a grated drainage system if there is a large water flow, stopping big debris and wastes from entering and blocking the drains. We will discuss this in today’s guide, and you can keep reading to know more and keep your stormwater drains clean.
So, without further ado, dive in!
Common Problems With Stormwater Drains
This section will discuss the major issues leading to the blockage of stormwater drains. If you address these issues, maintaining stormwater drains should no longer be a problem.
1. Clogging Of Drains
Stormwater drains need to be maintained very frequently to function normally. They are generally very susceptible to clogging by grass clippings, leaves and twigs. If your area receives heavy rainfall, the drains will likely get blocked.
Blocked drains would generally happen when the leaves flow along the water into the drains. However, due to their large size and structure, these leaves and twigs can get stuck and prevent the water from flowing through. That would lead to water accumulating on roofs and causing damage to the tiles.
To prevent blocked drains from happening, ensure that you clean the drains regularly. If you use chemical cleaners, be careful, as you might be exposed to harmful chemicals. You can do the work or get plumbers to clear or fix your blocked drain immediately.
Also, check the roof drain pipes every week to see if there is any blockage. You must go to the roof and pour some water into the pipe. See if it reaches the ground quickly and flows towards the stormwater drains.
A blocked stormwater drain will have indicators for you to gauge. Notice gurgling sounds? This is an obvious sign of blockage. Water pooling or foul smell are also obvious signs something is wrong.
2. Accumulation Of Dust
Another major issue with stormwater drains is the formation of silt beds on top of them. So, the dust accumulates on rooftops, mixes with the water and then flows down the gutter to the storm drain as silt.
The silt clogs the gutter and forms a bed for growing weeds. This can block a storm drain if you do not remove the silt immediately. Clean stormwater drains will prevent you from going through the entire process of calling technicians and asking them to take all the mud and silt out.
Hence, our qualified plumber will recommend cleaning rooftops and terraces often and installing strainers to prevent debris from entering the pipelines.
3. Increase Or Decrease In The Ground Level
If any changes have been made to the ground level of your house or the ones around you, that could significantly affect the water flow. This involves the construction of new walls, filling holes with soil, and excavation.
These are potential reasons behind the ground level change, affecting the water’s direction after a heavy downpour.
Technically, the stormwater should be directed towards drains or points of discharge. If that changes, the water could flow into a neighbour’s property and create large-scale damage.
That’s why you should always consult the local authorities and tell them if you are constructing or excavating. They will guide you toward the steps that need to be taken to ensure the proper flow of water.
Also, you can hire trained plumbers to look into the issue and advise you before beginning the work. Remember that it is not legal to direct water onto someone else’s property, and you might have to pay a fine if you break that law.
Maintaining Your Stormwater Drain
We recommend getting your stormwater drains cleaned once or twice every year. There are trained plumbers and technicians who use drain cleaning equipment like a high-pressure water jet to do this. This generally involves high-pressure machines, cleaning up blockages and allowing debris to flow down.
Sometimes, you might need to repair damages inside the drain holes or pipes. To do this, plumbers might have to use machinery or go inside the holes to replace the damaged parts. Talk to your local community heads before taking care of this to help out.
Moreover, you can occasionally clean the top of the drain when you see twigs and leaves accumulating. Daily cleaning will ensure that a massive pile of mess does not build on top of the grates. In this way, you might be able to protect them from large-scale damages in the long run.
So, don’t waste time; clean stormwater drains now. A storm and a blocked water drain won’t wait for you.
What Happens To Commercial Stormwater?
Commercial properties have different settings as they are more extensive. While an average house would only have limited water flowing down, commercial properties would have a vast roof.
That would mean accumulating a large amount of stormwater; hence, there must be enough drains to care for them. Typically, companies have people keep checking these drains at intervals. Also, some industries collect the water and then reuse it. They have rainwater harvesting systems in place to collect and preserve the water.
In this case, stormwater holes are not functional except for draining the water that directly falls on the ground.
If the company does not have a rainwater harvesting system in place, then remember that the water that flows into the drains can have a lot of contaminants. Industries use chemicals and other harmful ingredients like grit and oil that can affect the drain and its condition. Some companies have filtration systems that prevent pollutants from entering the water bodies.
If you want to install them, talk to the local authorities and get plumbers to do it. Also, constant maintenance is essential in case of a lot of rainfall, as factories’ waterlogging can cause large-scale damage to goods and the work process.
Looking After Your Stormwater Drain
Remember that stormwater drains can become breeding grounds for mosquitoes and flies if you’ve got clogged storm drains and do not clean them regularly. Drain blockages keep them moist and humid, providing the right conditions for them to breed and grow.
Some people pour bleaching powder around these drains, and regular storm water drain cleaning is to prevent this from happening. You can talk to the local authorities and see if they can arrange to safeguard all the drains in the area.
Remember that an area with a sound stormwater drainage system and sewer system will always remain dry and safe during storms or heavy downpours.
If you need other plumbing services like relining a stormwater pipe, flooded toilets, clearing of tree roots invasion, pipe relining, and gutter guards installation to regular maintenance and stormwater management to prevent future blockage and further accumulation of rubbish and debris, and keep water flows seamless, call our professional plumbers.
We will be wrapping up, and you can let us know if you have any further queries about managing stormwater or plumbing emergencies in the comment section below.
See you soon with another engaging guide. Until next time, bye!.
