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Pop down to Screwfix or whatever and grab a set of drain rods (about £30-50) and some manhole cover lifters (a few quid). Some long flat screwdrivers and a jem

Pop down to Screwfix or whatever and grab a set of drain rods (about £30-50) and some manhole cover lifters (a few quid). Some long flat screwdrivers and a jemmy are also useful for lifting covers. Wear marigolds or marigolds under rigger gloves or those red coloured anti chemical gloves (watch out for holes.) Find out what is your responsibility to keep clear. The drains are fine for what they are designed to deal with which is weather as it was known many decades ago. All that stuff is designed to deal with a 1 in n year event eg a 1 in 100 year event or 1 in 500 or 1 in 1000 etc. The problem is that 1 in 100 year events are happening nearly annually these days. It's not quite as bad as that but not far off. Have a think about where you are in relation to flooding events because they will happen more often and with increasing severity where you are. If you have a mate who is a Civil Engineer or a Hydrologist, works in Flooding in the Environmental Agency or other useful type, instead of a banker or IT (I'm an ex Civ Eng and now work in IT - bloody useless) then buy them a beer or two and ask for advice. Keep your drains clear and your guttering too.

kortilla 5y ago
> The problem is that 1 in 100 year events are happening nearly annually these days. But that doesn’t matter if they are actually designed to handle 1 in 100 year events. If the drains can’t handle a storm it means it wasn’t implemented to do so, whether it happens annually or once every 50 years.
- gerdesj 5y ago
  Perhaps I should have mentioned that 1 in 500 year events are occuring a bit too often these days too. I believe that the floods in Germany are being described as a 1 in 1000 year event. Some of the buildings we saw being washed away near the river Ahr etc were whitewashed, timber framed - that means they are at least 300 years old. The thing is that these 1 in n events are no longer static, if indeed they ever were. One thing is for certain, the 1 in n year description thing needs throwing out. A huge number of building/structural standards are complete and utter bollocks.

kortilla 5y ago

> The problem is that 1 in 100 year events are happening nearly annually these days. But that doesn’t matter if they are actually designed to handle 1 in 100 year events. If the drains can’t handle a storm it means it wasn’t implemented to do so, whether it happens annually or once every 50 years.

gerdesj 5y ago
Perhaps I should have mentioned that 1 in 500 year events are occuring a bit too often these days too. I believe that the floods in Germany are being described as a 1 in 1000 year event. Some of the buildings we saw being washed away near the river Ahr etc were whitewashed, timber framed - that means they are at least 300 years old. The thing is that these 1 in n events are no longer static, if indeed they ever were. One thing is for certain, the 1 in n year description thing needs throwing out. A huge number of building/structural standards are complete and utter bollocks.