Water from downpipe takes ages to get to drain

[dllive]

Hi
We have a water downpipe from the gutter which empties into a drain. I want to make sure that its not leaking underground (and under the house!).

I have an inspection hatch on the other side of the house where there are more drains and where I think this downpipe water is emptying into.

Ive stuck a hose in the downpipe drain to test this. The odd thing is that it takes a good 5 minutes of water from the hose before I start seeing the water coming out into the drain on the other side of the house. Why would that be!? The house is on quite a steep slope so the drop on the pipe should mean the water enters the other drain almost immediately after I turn the hose on.

Also, the water coming out into the drain doesnt seem as fast moving as the water coming out of the hose, which is concerning as that might mean the pipe's cracked underground(?)

I hope Im explaining myself well enough.

 

[Notch7]

Hi
We have a water downpipe from the gutter which empties into a drain. I want to make sure that its not leaking underground (and under the house!).

I have an inspection hatch on the other side of the house where there are more drains and where I think this downpipe water is emptying into.

Ive stuck a hose in the downpipe drain to test this. The odd thing is that it takes a good 5 minutes of water from the hose before I start seeing the water coming out into the drain on the other side of the house. Why would that be!? The house is on quite a steep slope so the drop on the pipe should mean the water enters the other drain almost immediately after I turn the hose on.

Also, the water coming out into the drain doesnt seem as fast moving as the water coming out of the hose, which is concerning as that might mean the pipe's cracked underground(?)

I hope Im explaining myself well enough.

I expect the run is silted up. Try rodding it.

Tree roots often crack pipes, you would need a camera down it to find out.

 

[dllive]

A friend said that it was probably going to a chamber designed to seperate the silt from the water, and the water would then fill up in the chamber to an overflow which then goes into the drain. That explains why it takes 5 minutes.

Seems a bit far fetched to me, but I dont know. The house is 100+ years old. Maybe that could be it?

 

[Ian H]

If it were like that the chamber in the middle would be always full so wouldn’t slow anything down.

The water should flow a bit slower than walking pace. If you stand at the manhole and get someone to throw a bucket of water in the gully you should hear it quite clear.

 

[HERTS P&D]

Get it jetted!

Andy

 

[KenGMac]

dllive, good evening.

Could be that the rain water drain under the house has a flat run? or has a dip in the run?

As for the silt trap? not too sure about that, if you have not seen it then by now, 100 Years it will have silted up completely.

As above try rodding from each end. but if there are branches joining under the house you may not get far?? or as Andy above jetting?

Best guess is a CCTV survey, if you do find a problem, your Home insurance will fund repairs under the heading of "Damage to underground services" down side to this is that the insurer will only acy on a proven defect, that will be up to you to prove.

Ken.

 

[Hugh Jaleak]

I'd do a dye test to confirm the water is actually going to this drain, before doing any further investigations.