Building control and drainage

[Steted21]

So I have started digging my foundations and have come across a rainwater drain in the line of the foundation. Its connected to both my downpipes at the back of my house. Now will building control let me remove the pipes from the footings and then once the extension is out of the ground and going up I will then re-run the pipe work to new locations? It means for a while the rainwater drain will be in the floor but capped. The other side of the house downpipe I will put into a water butt whilst the works are going on.

 

[Notch7]

Where do they go?

Building control will want a soakaway to be 5m from the new extension.

You can run the pipework next to the outside of the foundation

 

[Steted21]

Sorry I have just read over my post a said I located a drain its not a drain but a drainage pipe. This then takes the drainage water from my down pipes down my driveway at the side of the house and out into a chamber on my driveway. Will they still want a soakaway as I plan to connect back up to the original pipework just with a diverted route.

 

[noseall]

Will they still want a soakaway as I plan to connect back up to the original pipework just with a diverted route.

It depends.
Even if there is a dedicated storm system, BC can still insist any new storm drainage is discharged into a soakaway on the homeowners' property - dependant upon ground conditions.

We would either re-hash the drains or the downpipes (or both) whilst the foundation work is going on so that the rainwater still finds its way into the existing pipe. Often we will arrange the pipes and drains so that they can be temporarily removed and put back on a daily basis.

Once the foundation concrete is poured we would then look at permanently setting the storm system in place along with any new gullies etc. It may be that you get some masonry built first, then set up your storm system (new and existing) so that you have a clear idea where to locate the gullies etc.

 

[23vc]

FWIW, on mine I avoided having to have a soakaway as the total area of roof to discharge, when you took into account a load of old outbuildings and a shed, wasn’t any larger once the extension was built compared to before.

 

[pilsbury]

FWIW, on mine I avoided having to have a soakaway as the total area of roof to discharge, when you took into account a load of old outbuildings and a shed, wasn’t any larger once the extension was built compared to before.

Although my BCO said I should do soakaways, I’m using this argument to just dump my water into the combined drain, then argue the point. Just like you my extension replaces outbuildings.

 

[Steted21]

thanks for the reply as the house was only built around 5years ago and I'm not adding a great deal of extra roof space to the current building I'm hoping to avoid the soak away.

 

[noseall]

If the ground is good enough, BC can insist upon a soakaway. Using the excuse that the existing RWS once fed into a dedicated storm system won't ahem (pun intended) hold water. They encourage self draining storm systems due to present storm system overload becoming more common, as a result of concentrated urban development.

Probably.

 

[John D v2.0]

Agreed I'm pretty sure they'll use any possible excuse to get more soakaway in areas of sewer or River flooding. Already every time it rains loads of sewage runs straight into the Thames, and other areas of the country actually flood people's houses and gardens. So I think the powers that be prefer to get the water into the ground not straight intoithe rivers.

 

[Hugh Jaleak]

Modern surface water drainage rules require the runoff from roofs and paved areas to be discharged from the site at the same rate it would have been prior to any development. This is why soakaways are preferred, and on bigger jobs, some form of containment to allow the water to be stored, and released at a controlled rate.

With the wetter climate we seem to be experiencing, and the demand for buildings, Combined Storm Overflows are working more and more frequently in times of rainfall. The plan is to now try and reduce the frequency of operation, by reducing the amount of rainwater dumped into the drainage systems, and thus improving water quality downstream/around CSO's.