Rainfall in Cape Town is usually heavier in the winter seasons, if our country is not experiencing a drought. Due to the drought and very little rainfall it has been easy for us to neglect our storm water gullies and storm water pits. As we are well aware, Cape Town is a windy city and leaves can gather on your property. Rainfall makes the ground wet and together with the strong winds a lot of subsoil and leaves will end up in your drain gullies. This blocks up all storm water gullies and drainage gullies that have fixtures that run directly to them like your kitchen sink, basin, shower and bath.
Simple solutions are:
Make sure that these gullies are regularly checked and cleaned either by you or your garden service. Regular cleaning that is simple and cost effective, could save you having the cost and problems later when the rain comes.
Hardware shops and garden centres sell plastic lid covers for gullies that take drainage directly from a fixture in the house. These lids are built to fit all types of gullies and can be an easy way to keep leaves, sand and vermin out of these drain gullies. A DIY tip for you storm water pits and gullies is to put a cut out of dense netting / material that is porous, allowing water through but not leaves, twigs, vermin and soil.
If the problem persists and there are continual blockages, that could be due to movement in the ground or vegetation cracking the underground drainage system.
A more permanent solution is to have a professional plumber to investigate the problem to ensure these gullies are installed properly and do not have storm water running out of them.
If you are looking for a solution give our office a call on 0873573461 or send us an email on www.trojanplumbing.co.za
