Foul and surface water drainage issues

Major investment in Groby flood alleviation

Sept 2023   Over the years flooding has been a recurring problem for some homes and businesses in Groby, and affected residents sometimes resorted to building protective walls around air bricks to prevent water penetration. Foul water discharges from the sewers and surface water flooding are unpleasant and distressing for those properties affected. Climate change is expected to make the situation worse, so Severn Trent’s plans to seek approval for an ambitious flood alleviation project will be welcome news. Needless to say, the ‘no pain, no gain’ principle will be at work, and it will be impossible to avoid months of disruption in the village this winter.

Two sites

There are two sites for the works, on Leicester Road/Dalby Drive, and Ratby Road/Leicester Road. Motorists, already getting used to the temporary traffic lights on Leicester Road, may be faced with at least 5 months of traffic lights and road closures. The Ratby Road work is also likely to impact on the route taken by the Arriva 28 service from Leicester to Coalville via Groby and Ratby.

With such a major project Severn Trent will need a site base, and the contractors plan to be based on the Meadow on Newtown Linford Lane. The company, taking environmental issues seriously, will be ensuring that remedial work will be undertaken when they leave .

With something of this scale good communication will be key and Project Team members attended the August Parish Council meeting and will be arranging to give residents the opportunity to hear about the plans and voice their concerns. And concerns there are sure to be, though the company will do everything it can to minimise inconvenience and disruption.

Leicester Road

The alleviation work on Leicester Road will involve the installation of large foul storage tanks which will take the strain off the existing system during extreme rainfall events. The captured water will then be released back into the network over time. Some trees have been removed to facilitate this work, but Severn Trent is agreeing plans with the County Council for additional tree planting throughout the village which will more than compensate.

Ratby Road 

Although the duration of the work on is shorter, it is likely to be more disruptive, as separating foul and surface water, and laying a new surface water system, will require some preparatory work on the underground gas pipes. This part of Ratby Road is one of the few areas in the village where on street parking is essential both for residents and local businesses, and Severn Trent will be looking at ways of helping those affected by the road closure. “Hopefully we won’t have to suspend everything all at once, but there’s going to be some kind of restrictions at times,” explained the Project Manager. Businesses impacted by the works will be able to apply for compensation.

Hopefully Directors will approve the scheme expenditure this month and by next Summer the village will have a future proofed drainage system. It will have been worth the temporary inconvenience to ensure homes and business don’t live with the threat of flooding.

Groby hit by flash flooding in June 2020

July 2020  An afternoon thunderstorm on Tuesday 16 June produced so much rain that a heavy duty manhole cover was blown out of its frame on the A50 at Field Head, reports a local motorist.   Luckily  the community came together, sorted out the problem and resolved a dangerous situation.

"I was driving past at the time and stopped in the service road to have a look," he said.  "It was highly dangerous with traffic having to swerve across the road to avoid it.  I rang a local councillor and he came to see what could be done. A crowd gathered.  Then a white van man pulled up in front of it, put his hazards on to prevent cars crashing into the cover - which was poking about 18" above the road.  Between us we managed to lift it out and re-fit it into the frame.  He then fetched a set of drain rods from his van and unblocked the road gulley in the service road, which was probably contributing to the problem."

Another motorist crossing the village from the Woodlands Drive area says the road was more like a fast flowing river discharging onto Ratby Road into what can best be described as a torrent pouring down towards the college.

“I had turned left down towards the college entrance heading towards Sacheverell Way as I would normally do”, he said “but it quickly became apparent that I was not going to get to Sacheverell Way.  A deep pond  had formed across the mini roundabout at the college entrance formed by the heavy torrent coming from Ratby Road combined with the water from the college. There were already 2 cars (hazards flashing) trapped and I could see others trapped in the layby which had tried to come back round.

“Luckily, I just about managed a U turn across the “river” that was now forming by the bus stop and headed back towards Groby.  Anticipating that the village centre would be flooded, I made my way across to Pymm Ley Lane via Crane Ley Road, only to find another mini lake had formed at the junction of Pymm Ley Lane and Rookery Lane and cars were stopping rather than trying to cross it but the car immediately before me, a small 4x4 managed to cross it and I decided that my sturdy  4x4 should be OK if I crossed slowly without generating a wave.

“Lots of warning “buzzers” were triggered but the car was ok and I made it home without further incident but what a remarkable experience.  I can’t recall as much rain coming down in such a short time in the 38years we have lived in Groby. I saw manholes lifting everywhere with water shooting out.”

          New sewer ownership rules now effective

Read how you may be affected

October 2011 has arrived and the new regulations about sewer ownership and maintenance previously reported in the Spotlight have come into effect. All sewers outside of your property boundaries and any sewers shared with another property have now been transferred to the ownership of Severn Trent if within their supply area. The current advice from the company is that if you experience a sewer blockage you should ring them on 0800 783 4444.

Anyone living in a house which shares a common sewerage pipe with neighbours will probably have given a sigh of relief when the letter about changes in sewer ownership dropped through the letterbox.   Some, however, may have transferred it directly to their filing system called the recycling bin, mistaking it for another of those letters trying to sell insurance for water pipes.

“It’s a positive step for everyone,” said Allen Warren, area manager for Severn Trent, commenting on the changes. “Now if something goes wrong like a blocked or collapsed drain or sewer, it’s that much clearer who will be responsible for repairs.”

Private sewer problems

When pipes are jointly owned negotiations over how much each party should pay if there is a problem needing the services of a contractor can sometimes be sensitive, very sensitive. It is easy to assume that the issue normally affects terraced or semi detached homes where the individual houses may connect to a sewerage pipe at the back of the properties before going between or the the side of the houses to join the main sewer. But there have been cases in the past where the sewer in the road hadn't been adopted by the water company for some reason and the whole street was a private sewer to be maintained by the residents. This often didn't come to light until things went wrong. Surprisingly it is estimated that nearly half of all domestic properties are affected.

“Those who have bought ex-council houses are often served by private sewers, as sewers serving council estates were usually constructed by the local authorities in their capacity as local sanitary authorities and therefore most are unlikely to have been adopted by the water companies,” explained Policy Analyst Oliver Bennett in a briefing note for MPs.

A financial time bomb

When Hilary Benn announced the proposals in 2008 he said that millions of householders are unwittingly sitting on the ticking financial time bomb of private sewers and lateral drains. “They may not realise it, but if something goes wrong they have to pick up the bill. The transfer to water and sewerage companies will create a fairer system for all and save many households the agony of finding thousands of pounds to pay for repairs.”

Launching the draft regulations for consultation last year the Minister, James Paice MP, said the transfer will also significantly help address a lack of integrated management of the sewerage network as a whole, and provide much greater efficiency of effort, environmental stewardship and expenditure at a time when climate change impacts and housing growth may impose greater demands on urban drainage systems.

“Having a much greater proportion of the sewer network in the management of the water and sewerage companies means they will be able to plan maintenance and resolve problems more easily and comprehensively. The Government are also taking steps to stem the proliferation of newly built private sewers in order to prevent the recurrence of existing problems in the future,” he added.

What will change?

From 1 October 2011 home owners in England and Wales will only be responsible for the length of drain on their property which takes dirty water away from their home up until it connects with a neighbour’s drain. From there the pipe technically becomes a sewer and will be the local sewerage company’s responsibility to maintain and repair. In essence property owners will only be responsible for any drain within the boundary of their land which is exclusively theirs and not shared with another property. Some will see this as good news, others as not so good news.

The beneficiaries will be relieved of some financial liability and the hassle of negotiating with neighbours in the event of maintenance work being required. But these costs still have to be paid, and the water companies will naturally wish to pass these on to all customers who receive a sewerage service. The Government has estimated that household bills might rise between £3 and £14 a year to cover the costs transferred to water companies.

Severn Trent has 54,000km of sewers and 3,100 pumping stations. After the transfer they will have an extra 37,000km of sewers and around 4,000 pumping stations to maintain but do not yet know the full extent of them, their location or what condition they are in. They are expecting significant increases in the number of calls they receive from customers and the blockages they're called out to fix.

Who to call from October?

“Our advice to customers who think they have a blockage would be to call Severn Trent in the first instance,” explained a spokesperson for Severn Trent. “Our staff can help diagnose the problem over the phone to work out whether or not it’s a job for Severn Trent and its contractors. Severn Trent has actively encouraged its contractors to engage with smaller businesses who deal with blocked sewers and drains so that they have an opportunity to become sub-contractors.”

The National Sewerage Association, which was formed in 1996 to represent the interests of companies associated with the survey, operation, maintenance and renovation of sewers, drains and pipelines, clearly also has an interest in these changes which could impact on their members.

“The difficulty for both sides will be who is responsible for the drain/sewer and this is where the devil, in part, is in the detail,” explained Val Gibbens, the Association's Secretary. “Small contractors will be keen to service that which is still private and the sewerage company will not want them working on their assets. Call centres need to be trained to ask the correct questions but public responses to these will vary. Neither party will want to leave the householder in the lurch, so a delicate balance has to be sought.”

As with all changes there may be teething problems but customers will be pleased to hear that both sides of the industry are committed to making these changes work. If you want to look again at the Severn Trent illustrations they can be found online by following the link from http://stwater.co.uk/sewerownership.

So how do you  stop blockages on the pipes you still own?

In September 2011 Severn Trent named and shamed the worst towns in the Midlands for clogging up sewers, and revealed that the Leicester area has some the company’s most conscientious sewer users. Leicester comes sixth in their Top 20 of areas with squeaky clean sewers. Each kilometre of sewers only had around 4% of the blockages experienced in Normanton in Derbyshire, the worst area.

Who pays?

And of course its customers who pay the £10 million Severn Trent spends each year regularly cleaning over 700 kilometres of sewers which are prone to clogging up and clearing nearly 22,000 sewer blockages. Three out of every five sewer blockages in the Midlands are caused by sanitary products, fat, oil and grease. Some of the other worst offenders are items such as cleansing wipes, cotton buds and nappies.

Out of sight, out of mind?

“It’s easy to think ‘out of sight, out of mind’ when we put items down the loo that would be better off in the bin,” said Drew Kirby, Strategy Manager for Severn Trent’s sewerage infrastructure. “ A blocked sewer is, of course, inconvenient for our customers but if it leads to sewer flooding it can be extremely unpleasant and stressful.” When blockages and sewer flooding are caused by misuse of sewers and drains, they can be completely avoided.

The drains that take waste water away from your home are only a few centimetres wide and are only meant to take water, loo roll and human waste. It seems that things like sanitary products or cleansing wipes can get stuck in smaller drains, unlike toilet paper which breaks down when wet.

“It’s also easy to assume that the warm grease left in a pan after frying bacon, or preparing your Sunday roast would be ok to dump down the sink - that if you wash it down with hot soapy water it’ll be fine,” warns Drew. “But the reality is that eventually the fat and grease will cool and solidify, over time building up and blocking the drain or sewer. Better to wipe it out with a bit of kitchen roll & put it in the bin, or pour it into one of the free fat traps that Severn Trent provides to its customers.” The easy way to order one is to enter fat trap into the search box on www.stwater.co.uk.

Blockage clearance can still cost you money

Drew saves the most powerful reason for keeping your sewer pipe clean for last. “Anything that gets stuck in the drain running from your home until it connects to Severn Trent’s sewer is the homeowner’s responsibility to repair and maintain, and unblocking, repairing, or replacing the waste pipe that runs from your home can be costly,” he warns. The new rules about ownership only apply to pipework outside of your property boundaries and any sewers shared with another property. So you can reduce the risk of having to pay to have your drain unblocked by keeping the items listed below out of your loos and drains:

· Sanitary products

· Fat, oil, and grease-including butter, or frying oils

· Cleansing wipes, baby wipes & facial wipes

· Cotton buds & cotton wool

· Tissues

· Nappies

· Kitchen roll

· Condoms

· Razors or needles

· Medicine

· Car oil, paint thinner or other chemicals

· Bandages and plasters

· Dental floss

· Knickers & tights

· Incontinence pads