CCTV Drainage Survey for Business PArk, Staines
A business park in Surrey was a successful office development between Staines and Laleham. Managed by our client (Michael), the park housed over a dozen businesses, ranging from small accounting firms to a mid-sized tech company. With overheads rapidly increasing, how can Michael manage to make the business park affordable yet attractive for tenants?
Michael had been noticing these issues for a few years where he would see a few minor issues in the drain such as a few bathrooms that were taking a bit longer than normal to drain or some rainwater in the car park not clearing as fast as it should. This would mostly happen during a heavy downpour. Even though quick fixes usually take care of these issues, Michael thought there might be a bigger problem ahead with an older drainage system.
During a downpour one rainy evening in October it all came to a head. The parking lot was flooded, and some water entered the reception area of one of the office buildings. The tenants were badly affected. Some could not take any calls for the day. Even though flooding was controlled, it was a wake-up call for Michael. He realized that reactive repairs would not be enough and that his drainage system needed proactive measures to ensure ongoing functionality.
A recommendation from another property manager saw Michael get in touch with Your Drain Experts, for a cctv drainage survey at Staines. He wanted to make sure there weren’t any major underlying issues with the drainage system to begin with.
Our team planned to do the first CCTV drainage survey at the Business Park the following week. Upon arrival, we started by thoroughly checking the drainage network which has run across many buildings and large sections of the car park. By means of high-definition CCTV cameras we fed the equipment into individual access points within the drainage to check for blockages, cracks or signs of deterioration.
As the cameras maneuvered through the piping, Michael was able to view the live footage with our technicians. The survey revealed some concerning findings. While there were no major blockages or collapses, lots of debris – leaves, silt and some cobbles – had formed in places, especially in the outside drains around the car park area. These buildups are likely causing slow drainage and flooding during heavy rainfall.
Rob, the technician, said that any debris over time can become a serious issue, particularly at times with high water flow. If the debris was not cleared regularly, the drains would become totally blocked. Fortunately, the solution was straightforward. We suggested to immediately clean the affected drains using a high-pressure water jet. Cleaning of the drain with a high-pressure water jet will remove the silt.
The service for cleaning was agreed upon by Michael and the job was done in a few hours. We suggested to Michael that he ought to schedule CCTV surveys ever 18-24 months so that system isn’t left to become critical.
The results were almost immediate. After the cleaning, it rained heavily within a couple of weeks but this time the car park drained perfectly with no flooding or slow draining of water. Michael felt relieved that the system was working correctly.
In the months after the first CCTV survey and clean, Michael took other actions to protect the drain. Michael got the car park to be swept on a regular basis so that leaves and other debris didn’t get into the external drains. He also placed filters on the drain covers to block bigger rubbish from entering the drains.
Just thinking back on the process, Michael said, “Adapting a preventative maintenance plan has been one of the best things I’ve done for the business park. We were lucky to avoid a more serious issue. The CCTV drain survey gave us great detail as to what exactly was going on under the ground. I suggest every property manager use this service to avoid expensive emergencies!
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