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Hi all,

We have a Victorian mid terrace with small area to the front which is concreted, the down pipe runs into a hole in the concrete and we presumed went under the wall to the curb and out in a drain on the road, however during recent heavy rain there has been water coming up and out of the hole near guttering causing pooling. We got a drainage company in as we thought there could be a blockage but when he went to jet the curb hole part it just bounced back which he said was probably cut off when they laid the pavement. Any idea as to where our storm water actually goes now or is it just dispersing under our house/concrete front garden and causing all sorts of issues? We already have damp on the external/internal part of the wall but put it down to full gutters/down pipe. Any ideas on how to remedy would be great, thanks!

It could be a soakaway and that pipe is a run-off for when it gets up to capacity. Rainwater should not really be channelled into the sewerage system and it is common for soakaway pits to be built. These pits are full of rubble and water leeches down into the ground steadily. The rubble gives voids to hold water while it soaks away.If it gets full then excess comes out the overflow which I believe is that pipe. you should be able to ask the council or water authority to check their records and advise you accordingly. Have you checked the neighbours for similar pipes adjacent to their downpipes?

DWD

Thanks for the response. Yes we did wonder if it was a soak way, my next job is checking the deeds to see if there is any information in that before contacting local council. From a quick scan on the street there are 3 houses with down pipes but different set ups, one has cut a hole in wall and drainpipe comes through that onto pavement, another is similar to ours but appears to have water flowing out, and the other goes into the ground and doesn’t seem to be any kerb side drainage. Was just wondering if anyone had come across this causing a damp issue before or it’s just down to the guttering being in poor condition!

The gutters must be working to get the water coming up at ground level. It might be the other houses have, over the years, routed into the main sewers. As a remedy you need to dig up and see what is happening under the fron garden.

DWD