With the weather warming up, it means our summer storm season is on it's way.
And hopefully that means lots of rain. But while our reservoirs and gardens definitely need the heavens to open up, WHAT we DON'T want is flooding.
Belinda Burrows has been looking at what to do now, to prevent flood and water problems around your home.
OK, it may seem strange to be talking about drainage and flooding around the house in the middle of a drought, but, just remember, droughts are broken by rain - and lots of it. “This is a time when you should be going out there, doing all the work now to ensure that your house is not going to flood.” Paul Eslick is one half of the Renovation Kings, and says flooding and poor drainage can cost homeowners dearly. “Enough due diligence can save you a lifetime of problems and worries.”
But how do you know if your house could flood during heavy rain? Well, according to engineer Hilton Reid, everyone should get a flood report from council. “And that will indicate what the flood levels are in your area.”
Says Brisbane mayor Campbell Newman: “Even if you think it's OK, you should still get a flood report.” Your first port of call should be your local council. “It's a much better flood report than you used to be able to get. I've actually got a report that gives more detailed information, that actually predicts the level of flooding rather than relies on historical information.”
But even if the flood report gives your place the all-clear, it doesn't mean it won't go under. There's also the issue of over land flow path, which basically occurs when there's more water than the underground drainage system can handle, so it backs up.
“It may not be anymore than a nuisance issue, however, in some areas it may be very severe in that the depth of water may be such that your house would get flooded.” But our engineer Hilton Reid says there are indicators that your area is vulnerable to over land flow flooding. “Well, in this street, for example about 50m down the road there, there is a low point in the road, so that is an indication that there may be an over land flow path in this street. So if you're looking in a street and there's a dip in the road, those houses might be susceptible to flooding? Correct.”
But there could be other reasons why your property might become waterlogged this summer. And one of the biggest culprits are fallen leaves, clogging up your gutters and, more importantly, drains in the street.
“Once a week, give it a good sweep. After a heavy wind, there may be no rain especially after the heavy winds we've had. I bet you there's a lot of debris in the streets now and that will cause flooding.”
Reno King Paul says we all should have this checklist ticked off before the summer storm season: clear all gutters and drains of debris; replace any broken gutters or downpipes to stop water pooling in the wrong place; and check you have adequate drainage. One of the biggest problems many homeowners face is run-off from adjacent properties. If you don't keep the water moving through, it'll back up into your house. “There's a whole system of good drainage systems and every drain is one of - type of drain that you put in there and alleviate the problem.”
Using aggregate pipes is one way to drain water away and they can be placed around your yard fairly discretely. “If you're doing anything like retaining walls, make sure you put aggregate in there and put storm water drainage in there and pipe it out into the street.”
So by taking the time now to address flooding and drainage issues, you'll be high and dry when those drought-breaking rains finally arrive.
