Lanes saves building merchant cash by curing flood problem

Lanes Group has cured flood problems that had caused damage worth thousands of pounds at a builder’s merchant yard.

Drainage engineers from the Lanes Bristol depot were called in to investigate persistent flooding at the premises run by a national building supplies chain.

Lanes Bristol Operations Manager Andy Edwards said: “The flooding was affected the bottom end of the yard and had caused damage to part of the company’s timber stock.

“The cost of damage was significant, running into thousands of pounds, so clearly something needed to be done to cure the flooding problem.”

The Lanes team found that the surface water drainage channels had become blocked with silt, and suspected the same was true of the soakaway that was designed to drain rainwater from the site.

Andy Edwards said: “We used our jet vac tanker to jet clean the surface water channels, then used the machine’s vacuumation system to lift about two tonnes of silt from the soakaway.

“Once the channels and the blocked soakaway were clean again, we tested the system by pouring water onto the yard, and it cleared very quickly telling us that we had cured the problem.

“The manager of the builder’s merchant was very pleased with the result because we had resolved a persistent problem, which had already cost the company a significant amount of money.”

Silted up surface water channels and blocked soakaways are common problems for building supplies companies because the sand and gravel products they sell can, over time, find their way into the drainage system.

Andy Edwards said: “Having a drainage maintenance plan for facilities like builder’s merchants and other commercial services yards is a sensible precaution. It will help ensure potentially costly flooding doesn’t occur.

“Water seepage and flooding caused by poorly-maintained drainage systems can easily restrict normal workplace activity, reducing productivity.

“It can also put off customers, and can cause ground instability that could be a health and safety hazard, and cause long-term damage that could be very costly to put right if not dealt with promptly.

“With our expertise in Lanes Group we can solve any immediate surface drainage problems, and advise clients on the most cost-effective way to put in place long-term solutions.”

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