Firstly how do soakaways work?
Soakaway drainage consists of a large excavated hole that is replaced with storm crates that allows the storage of rainwater to then seep into the surrounding grounds. Shown above is a correctly installed soakaway connected to a surface water road-gully. Mostly soakaways are connected to gullies, aco drainage and rainwater pipes/gutters that discharge the surface water away from the building/property. As a result a faulty drainage system can cause internal damage to a property with mould, damp occurring within and even the possibility of structural damage to the building by settlement of the surrounding grounds.
Signs/causes of a faulty soakaway
flooding of aco drainage, gullies or any surface water drainage
constant water level in the drainage pipe
build-up of debris/silt in the soakaway
in-grown of roots in the soakaway or drainage pipes
Resolving the drainage issue
Firstly if its just a case of the drainage pipe leading into the soakaway being blocked then clearance of the drain pipe will result in a fully flowing drainage system. An efficient way of clearing the blocked drain is by high pressure water jetting. However if its due to the soakaway being full of debris and sediment at which it is no longer allowing the storage of surface water then the removal of the faulty existing soakaway and replacing with a newly modernised one that consists of storm crates that allows 97% of water storage would completely resolve the drainage issue. As a result the newly installed drainage system will efficiently allow the surface water to drain away from the property and seep into the surrounding grounds. Shown above is a correctly installed soakaway connected to a surface water road-gully.
Aquatech drains have years of experience and knowledge in drainage and have installed soakaways for many of our customers. We provide very competitive costs and free site investigations and recommendations. For more information and a visual insight into soakaways visit our services and projects page. Also feel free to contact us with any questions regarding any drainage problem that you may have.