Over the past years, flooding has been a major benefactor to property damage. More and more home owners have been affected by inefficient drainage systems. Flooding poses significant challenges to communities, causing devastating damage to infrastructure, properties, and, most importantly, human lives. National water companies play a crucial role in managing water resources and ensuring effective response measures during such disasters. With their expertise in water management, these companies are responsible for implementing strategies, coordinating emergency response efforts, and minimising the impacts of flooding.
Responsibilities of National Water Companies
National companies have a broad range of responsibilities when it comes to managing flooding. They are responsible for monitoring weather patterns, river levels, and water infrastructure to identify potential flood risks. These companies also play a vital role in maintaining and upgrading water infrastructure, such as dams, levees, and drainage systems, to enhance flood resilience. In times of flooding, national water companies should coordinate with local authorities, emergency services, and relevant stakeholders to implement response plans.
Unfortunately, there has never been enough focus on the obligations of these companies at times when sewers malfunction and overwhelm customers’ private drainage systems causing flooding and damage to property. Since the transfer of sewers & lateral drains to water companies in 2011, 75% of sewer assets are now located within the boundaries of policy holders properties with the remaining 25% located outside mainly in the public domain.
When a water company sewer malfunctions, it is commonly during prolonged or heavy rainfall putting sewers under extreme testing conditions therefore it is very important that the water company maintain their assets or else flooding will occur. There are a number of reasons, one of the most common being fat oil & grease as well as normal serviceability issues that can have an adverse effect on water company assets making them inefficient at times of rainfall.
Most maintenance policies are firstly reactive rather than proactive and storm water sewers are generally forgotten and rarely maintained until a flood event takes place. Only when the damage has occurred will the water companies look to put a discrete plan of action into place to effectively hide the issues.
DASA would suggest that on every property that has been flooded it would be worth a quick survey prior to the customer moving back in to check firstly if the sewers and laterals are clear and functioning properly and secondly, if there is any chance of pursuing a recovery against the water company.
Contact DASA for drainage services
If you are in need of drain maintenance repairs or maintenance services, contact one of our experienced team at DASA here.