Preparing Your Drains for Winter and Heavy Rain in the East Midlands

The best time to prepare your drains for winter is early autumn, before leaves fall and the ground gets saturated. Clear gutters and gully grates, have any slow-running drain jetted, check that soakaways and downpipes are coping, protect exposed waste pipes from frost, and sign up for free Environment Agency flood warnings so you know when heavy rain is on the way.

Winter storms have hit the East Midlands hard in recent years. A little preparation will not stop a river flooding, but it does mean your own drains are ready to carry water away when it matters.

Why does winter weather hit drains so hard?

Winter brings several problems at once. Falling leaves wash into gutters and gullies, saturated ground stops soakaways draining, and long spells of heavy rain push more water into drains than they can carry. Frost adds its own risk: Checkatrade lists freezing among the common causes of drain damage.

Many older areas are also served by combined sewers, which carry rainwater and sewage in the same pipe. The government's Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan describes storm overflows as safety valves built into this Victorian system, because heavy rain can exceed what the sewers can carry.

Recent storms show what can happen locally:

• During Storm Babet in October 2023, a high River Erewash stopped road drains emptying in Stapleford, and 130 properties flooded (Nottinghamshire County Council).
• In Sutton-in-Ashfield, 125 mm of rain overwhelmed road drains during Babet, and bow waves from vehicles pushed water into homes (NCC report).
• In Lowdham, 135 properties flooded from the Cocker Beck, and foul water rose on Ton Lane (NCC report).
• In Southwell, our home town, Babet flooded 14 homes (NCC report).
• During Storm Henk in January 2024, the Trent at Colwick peaked above 5 m (gov.uk).

Intense rain is not only a winter risk. A flash flood in July 2013 hit about 300 properties in Southwell (Newark Advertiser), which is why it pays to keep drains in good order all year rather than only when the clocks change.

Blocked private drains are rarely the main cause of flooding on that scale, but they make local problems worse and can back up long after the rain stops. A drain that is already half full of silt or grease has much less spare capacity when a storm arrives.

What should be on your autumn drain checklist?

1. Clear gutters and downpipes once most leaves have fallen, and check that water runs freely from each downpipe. Our guide on how often gutters should be cleaned covers the warning signs.
2. Clear gully grates and yard drains of leaves, moss and silt. Wear gloves and lift the debris out by hand or with a trowel.
3. Run water and watch it drain. If a sink, shower or outside gully drains slowly, it is likely to be partly blocked and will struggle in heavy rain.
4. Look at inspection chamber covers from the surface. Report cracked or rocking covers, but don't lift heavy or damaged covers yourself.
5. Check your soakaway. If gullies overflowed or the lawn stayed boggy last winter, the soakaway may be silting up. See our guide to soakaways.
6. Keep fat out of the sink, especially after large family meals. Our guide to fat, oil and grease explains why.
7. Know your numbers. Save the phone number of your sewerage company and your council's reporting page.
8. Sign up for flood warnings from the Environment Agency.

How do you stop outside waste pipes freezing?

Exposed waste pipes, including boiler condensate pipes that run outside, can freeze in cold snaps. To reduce the risk:

• fit outdoor-grade pipe lagging to exposed runs;
• fix dripping taps and overflows so water does not sit in the pipe;
• keep outside gullies clear so meltwater can drain away;
• if a pipe freezes, thaw it gently with warm water or a warm cloth.

Never pour boiling water on a frozen plastic pipe or use a naked flame, as both can crack or melt the pipe.

What should you do if drains overflow in a storm?

Stay safe first. Floodwater from drains may contain sewage, so:

• keep children and pets away from the water and wash hands after any contact;
• wear gloves and waterproof boots if you have to clear debris;
• never lift manhole covers, and take care walking through water where covers may have lifted;
• if water is coming into your home, turn off the electricity at the consumer unit only if it is safe to do so.

Then work out whose problem it is:

• A road gully belongs to the council (see the table below).
• A public sewer, especially if neighbours are affected too, is the water company's. Severn Trent covers Nottinghamshire and most of Derbyshire and Leicestershire (0800 783 4444, 24 hours). Most of Lincolnshire is Anglian Water, which lists its numbers online.
• A private drain serving only your property is your responsibility, and a drainage contractor can clear it.

If rivers are high, drains may not be able to empty until levels fall, as happened in Stapleford. Jetting will not help until then. Take photos of any damage for your insurer; our guide to home insurance and drain damage explains what to keep.

For river and flood information, check live flood warnings on gov.uk, sign up for free warnings or call Floodline on 0345 988 1188.

Which council deals with blocked road gullies?

In Nottinghamshire, Via East Midlands maintains about 185,000 road gullies for the county council, and the council has asked residents to report blocked ones (Nottinghamshire County Council).

How can you make your home more flood-resilient?

• Fit a non-return valve where sewage could back up into your property during heavy rain. Ask us about fitting one through our drainage plumbing service.
• Avoid paving over soft ground. A Nottinghamshire County Council report into a June 2016 flood in Mansfield pointed to paved-over front gardens as a factor. Permeable paving lets rain soak through.
• Add water butts to downpipes to hold back some roof water.
• Keep gutters, gullies and soakaways maintained, so your own drainage copes as well as it can.

When to call a professional

Book a drain check before winter if any drain is slow, smells, gurgles or overflowed last year. We clear silt, leaves and grease with high-pressure drain jetting, clean gutters through our gutter cleaning service, and can camera-survey drains that keep causing trouble.

If a drain is overflowing now, see our emergency drainage page. We are open 7 days a week, 6am to 8pm, with emergency call-outs 365 days a year across Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Lincolnshire, and there is no call-out fee. Call 07300 600 950.

Sources

• gov.uk: Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan (2022)
• Nottinghamshire County Council: Stapleford Storm Babet report
• Nottinghamshire County Council: Sutton-in-Ashfield Storm Babet report
• Nottinghamshire County Council: Lowdham Storm Babet report
• Nottinghamshire County Council: Southwell Storm Babet report
• Newark Advertiser: Southwell's 2013 flooding
• gov.uk: Statement on Storm Henk
• Severn Trent: Blocked drains
• gov.uk: Sign up for flood warnings
• Checkatrade: Signs of blocked drains
• Nottinghamshire County Council: Gully cleansing news