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Reduce your risk of flooding

Sustainable gardenBy using sustainable drainage methods at home, you can reduce the risk of surface water flooding.

Surface water flooding
Surface water is another word for rain that is collected by drains and gullies on your homes and gardens, before it goes into the sewer. Heavy rain can sometimes overwhelm drainage systems, and if not properly managed, can cause flooding of roads, gardens and even properties. Surface water can also wash away soil, and as it flows overland it can mix with other materials that pollute the local environment.

With the reduction in grassed areas over the past few decades, rainwater has nowhere to go which increases the amount of surface run-off and the speed at which it goes into to the sewer which can then cause flooding. We all like to make a difference, and one of the easiest ways is to think about how you manage your surface water.

Our ‘Slow the Flow’ garden shows you how you can use sustainable drainage at home

In July 2020, we sponsored a very special show garden at RHS Tatton Flower Show created by garden designer John Everiss. Our Slow the Flow garden was designed to demonstrate ways to capture rainwater and slowly release it into the sewer system to reduce potential flooding problems.

Key areas of the garden:

Solar panel roofLiving roof with solar panel -a low maintenance grass roof which acts as a sponge during heavy rain allowing water to drain away slowly.

Stone gullyStone catchment gully – built using boulders and pebbles, the gully travels across the garden catching water run off during heavy rain and channels into a water storage tank

Downfall chainDownfall pipe/chain - runs into the catchment gullies to collect the surface water

Beam walkwayConcrete beam walkway – a non-slip surface which allows water to drain through the surface and soak into the ground

Turf stone floorTurfstone driveway – constructed using concrete blocks with holes filled with turf, it is a cheap and effective way of allowing water to soak into the ground

Gabion wallingGabion walling – a narrow wire mesh wall filled with loose stones allowing water to easily drain away.

You can also consider…

Rain garden

A rain garden can be a natural or artificial dip in the garden that is filled with soil and plants. Surface water is channelled to the rain garden where it can be absorbed by the plants or drains into the ground.

Water butts

Water butts collect rainwater and store it for reuse, and with the average UK roof collecting 90,000 litres of water per year, this is more than enough to keep your water butt topped up. This stored water can be reused for watering your garden and washing cars. You can buy a water butt here.

Get water fit!

You can also help prevent flooding by reducing the amount of water that goes into our sewage pipes. Click the button below to find advice on how to save water and money.

Save water

Watch our videos on how we're reducing surface water drainage:

Greening the gray

We’ve been working on how we can help transform ‘grey areas’ across the NW into greener spaces to help reduce surface water flooding.

Blue Green Roof

We collaborated with Bruntwood office space, Block & Polypipe to build a Blue Green Roof in Manchester to reduce surface water entering our network. Watch the video to find out more.

Important Notice

Cold Weather

Due to the freezing weather conditions across the region a number of our customers are experiencing no water or reduced pressure, caused by frozen pipes in their home. There are a few things you can do to check if you have frozen pipes. If you are unable to complete these checks please reach out to your family, friends or neighbours to see if they can help:

  1. If there are no local issues check with your neighbours. If they have water, you may have a frozen pipe in your property.
  2. Here’s what to do. Turn off your stop tap by turning it clockwise, it’s usually found under your kitchen sink, but can be in your garage or cellar.
  3. Once you’ve turned your stop tap off, turn on your cold tap in the kitchen
  4. If you have no water, this could be due to a frozen pipe somewhere in your home. This may be the pipe which comes into your home near to where your stop tap is located.
  5. Carefully thaw the pipe using a warm towel, or if safe to do so a hairdryer in short bursts, ensuring you keep well away from water. If you can get water from a neighbour you could try a hot water bottle too. This could take a while, depending on how frozen and big your pipes are.
  6. Switch your stop tap back on to see if the water is running.

You can find more information at www.unitedutilities.com/frozenpipes.

If you have followed all of the advice provided and still want to talk to us, please give us a call. As we are experiencing really high call volumes at the moment, please bear with us as wait times will be longer than usual. 

Due to the freezing weather conditions across the region a number of our customers are experiencing no water or reduced pressure, caused by frozen pipes in their home. For more help and advice if you have a frozen pipe head to www.unitedutilities.com/frozenpipes.

Cold Weather

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