How consistent low-leak manhole covers could be key in flooding controls

As climate change increases the likelihood of heavy rainfall that can lead to localised flooding in many parts of the UK, and with the resulting pressure on our sewers, the drainage solutions sector has an essential role to play in supporting our infrastructure. Barry Turner, our Technical Manager, discusses why low-leak manhole covers have a key role to play and how their adoption must change.

“Our country’s infrastructure is not fit to deal with weather extremes such as heavy rainfall, which can cause local flooding events – and the more that occurs, the more vulnerable the manhole cover installations on our drainage network will become”, warns Barry.

Barry believes one of many solutions could be the use of consistent low-leak manhole covers to slow down the amount of surface water entering sewers during a storm. Barry says Water UK’s Sewers for Adoption regulations – which govern the standards needed for installing sewage and wastewater systems – ideally need to quantify the amount of acceptable leakage levels through manhole covers, as well as specifying the mandatory use of low leak apparatus on foul-only sewers.

They are generally available from most UK suppliers but often need to be specified from the start as the assembly is usually a factory fitment. Furthermore, enquiries for these accessories often don’t equate to the number of covers intended for use on sewer systems.

Thankfully, as well as the factory-fit low leak seal plate we offer, we’ve also developed a retrofit design. The retrofit design means the seal plate can be added later if a client realises their site is vulnerable. Indeed, leakage through these features can be as low as 0.8 litres/m2/hour.