Living in a country as wet as the UK, river-adjacent towns and cities are no stranger to the occasional washout or flood. For some, this may beg the question, ‘Do I need a soakaway?’. Well, if the threat of flooding is so consistent to the point of being debilitating to either a private or commercial facility, further action must be taken! It is at this point that a soakaway must be considered.
One of the country’s leading geotechnical drilling firms, Borehole Solutions, has put together this blog to offer a little more insight into the humble soakaway. Read on to discover exactly what they are and when they’re needed.
What Is A Soakaway?
To put it simply, a soakaway is a buried form of drainage. It will comprise some sort of storage device, filled with either flint or rubble, in most cases. This rubble filters excess water in a controlled manner; drastically mitigating the risk of flooding. Some form of guttering is typically used to direct excess runoff water into the soakaway.
If the sheer simplicity of the solution isn’t enough to answer your question of ‘Do I need a soakaway?’, consider how cost-effective they are! Not only this, but as far as drainage systems go, a soakaway will work in almost every situation.
Specially designed soakaway crates, instead of rubble, have been used more recently by various installation companies. Both have proven to work very well. Drainage features such as these have the added benefit of aiding ecological processes by replenishing the groundwater!
When Would I Need A Soakaway?
Soakaways are typically implemented in more rural areas where flooding is an increased threat, due to the lack of storm drains. That’s not to say they’re exclusive to rural areas, however. You may also find a soakaway in the garden of a suburban home, especially those with waterlogged or boggy lawns. In these cases, many people won’t ask ‘Do I need a soakaway?’, as they won’t know what a soakaway is. So, hopefully, this blog will help to provide some clarity.
Soakaways are also invisible once installed. They won’t be an eyesore to you, your neighbours or the community. With this final point in mind, there really are very few reasons to not have one installed in a rain-prone environment.
Where Are Soakaways Commonly Used?
We’ve mentioned rural areas and gardens, but one of the most common places to find a soakaway is a sports pitch. You may be surprised to find out, for example, that football pitches will almost always have multiple soakaways installed. Our British climate simply doesn’t play ball (no pun intended) with these elite clubs, where pitch conditions must remain perfect at all times.
Returning to domestic situations, however, there are several key regulations surrounding soakaway installation that anyone asking ‘Do I need a soakaway?’ must be aware of. They cannot, for example, be installed within 5 metres of a road or building. Nor can they be installed if there is a risk of contamination to groundwater.
Incredibly low maintenance and virtually invisible, soakaways provide an ideal anti-flooding solution in any seriously damp climate. If you would like to find out more, please get in touch! You can contact Borehole Solutions today on 01733 200501.
