When we hear heavy rain is expected, our teams get ready.
If lots of rain falls in a short space of time, sewers can fill quickly. The extra water, including run off from roofs and roads, can make flooding more likely. That’s why our teams make additional preparations so that we can keep customer taps flowing and toilets flushing, whatever the weather.
The challenges of heavy rain
The severe weather we’re getting with climate change is giving us more drought and heavier downpours. After dry weather, the rain doesn’t soak into the hard ground, so the run-off from roads is even greater. This puts pressure on our combined sewers, where rainwater mixes with wastewater. It may mean that storm overflows need to be used to prevent flooding to homes and businesses.
It’s not only the amount of water in the sewers that can be a problem. Blockages caused by FOG (fat, oil and grease), as well as unflushable items like wet wipes and nappies, can make the water back up in pipes and cause flooding.
What we do to prepare for stormy weather
We don’t want our customers to be affected by the storms, or to go without water if there’s a problem with supply, so we carry out additional checks and take action in advance of stormy weather.
While we always have water tankers on standby in case there’s a loss of water supply somewhere in our region, when we know bad weather is on the way, we make sure there are additional tankers at the ready and plan ahead by:
Making extra people available – we increase the number of people on call across the teams, including our maintenance team, and add additional assistance on sites 24/7.
Carrying out additional site checks - we always carry out lots of tests on our sites as part of the daily routine, but during extreme weather, there are specific site checks and action plans to be completed, as well as an increase in site visits.
Preparing the control room for site specific actions – some sites have specific escalation plans if there are problems
It’s not just rain that can cause problems, lightening and high winds mean we need to keep extra power on standby in case our sites are affected by power cuts during a storm. The additional power source comes in the form of standby generators, which also need to be tested. Mobile generators may also be installed.
Working together to keep your water and wastewater supply running smoothly
And it’s not just our teams who work together to plan for bad weather, we always work closely with power companies, local authorities and the emergency services. These close links are important for making sure that emergency response plans are ready, so that customers aren’t affected if there’s a problem.
How you can help
By quickly checking your drains for leaves or any other waste, you could help stop a blockage and flooding. But if you do find yourself with a flooding emergency, we have advice to help.
John Penicud
Director of Wastewater Operations