Why spend on flood prevention?
The News has been filled with stories of localised flooding in recent years – and not just in winter months. Some say changing climate patterns are causing sudden downpours our flood defences aren’t ready for. Some argue new housing developments are straining our overloaded sewer systems. And some suggest government cost-cutting has reduced flood prevention spending, for things like drain cleaning and river maintenance.
Whatever the reason, it’s common sense that regular drain maintenance, from sewer cleaning to clearing out drainage ditches, helps protect homes, businesses, and communities.
Ways to pre-empt flooding
You may have seen some of these early tell-tell signs that flood mitigation is needed around your home:
- Runoff water from your driveway or garden pooling around drains
- Water spilling over drainpipes during heavy rainfall
- Water backing up in your toilets, sinks, or bath
- Excess silt and debris left around your drains after big storms
These are all big warning signs that you need to put flood prevention measures in place, before a bigger rainstorm or melting winter snow causes larger problems, including flooding into your property.
The best way to pre-empt flooding is to call an expert in flood mitigation. They can assess any drainage issues and, if necessary, carry out CCTV drainage surveys to spot issues like root ingress, which would require root cutting rather than simple sewer cleaning.
Ways to prevent flooding yourself
There are lots of tools and tricks for easy and effective flood prevention – and they’re all much cheaper and less stressful than dealing with the aftermath of a flood.
You may not be able to build your own flood defences or carry out your own CCTV drainage surveys, but there are plenty of DIY flood mitigation measures that can make a big difference.
These include keeping your drains, gutters, and drainpipes clear of leaves; making sure the land around your property drains away from it (or installing adequate gullies and maintaining them with regular gully cleaning); and clearing snow from around your drains and your home’s perimeter to avoid any issues when it melts.
Ways to prevent flooding with a little help
It’s important to keep your drains and sewers healthy – and our Wilkinson Environmental Ltd team can help find the right flood prevention measures for your property.
Some of the simplest flood mitigation solutions include:
- drain cleaning and sewer cleaning, to keep your system clear of leaves, debris, and grease
- gully cleaning if you have drainage gullies around your property
- dredging drainage ditches around your property
If you need better flood defences, our teams around the Midlands can install or improve your existing drainage ditches and gullies, fix any broken drains or sewers (whether you need root cutting for root ingress or drain lining for cracked drains), and advise on internal solutions for flood mitigation, such as installing non-return valves on toilets.
Does flood prevention really help?
There is no doubt that flood mitigation methods like drain cleaning, creating robust flood defences, and dredging drainage ditches to keep them free of debris can make a big difference when winter weather hits.
Some flood prevention measures are a one-off project, such as installing new flood defences like gullies or ditches. But others should become part of your pre-winter routine, like drain cleaning, sewer cleaning, and gully cleaning.
Why call the flood prevention experts?
Well, apart from the fact that dredging drainage ditches, carrying out sewer cleaning, and digging new flood defences is a less than glamourous way to spend your weekend, our experts at Wilkinson Environmental Ltd are all fully trained and insured to carry out any flood mitigation work for you – saving you stress and mess.
They can also complete any necessary CCTV drainage surveys first, ensuring you take the right flood prevention measures, whether that’s drain cleaning, gully cleaning, root cutting for root ingress, or installing new flood defences.
How to arrange your flood mitigation
Our teams are helping people prepare for winter across the Midlands, in and around cities like Leicester, Birmingham, Warwick, and Coventry, so give us a call for a free, no-obligation quote for flood prevention for your home or business.