According to a recent report in the Irish Times ‘Construction of extensions in back gardens and paving front lawns for cars contributed to this week’s flooding of homes, Dublin City Council has said’. This is due to the removal of the natural soakage provided by gardens which allows rainwater to soak into the ground and disperse over time. Sealed surfaces stop this from happening and can lead to increase pooling of water and therefore flooding. Dublin City Councils SuDS (Sustainable urban Drainage Systems) directive legislates in this area and provides for the installation of systems that mimic natural soil conditions or soakage in urban areas to radically reduce the chance of flash flooding. In this regards systems are designed to mimic soil in a process called infiltration, where rainwater builds up in an artificial void and is allowed to disperse slowly over time as would be the case in a non sealed surface. Attenuation is the process where stormwater flows are held in an artifical void underground and then released at a pre determined rate into a stream or drain. Attenuation systems are often designed to bear up to ’1 in 30/50 year storm’ flows or more depending on the planning authority.
The Agrement certified BMS Stormbreaker is a class leading Irish designed and manufactured water/rainwater/stormwater attenuation/infiltration system. It is far stronger than any other product available on the market and therefore can be installed a lot deeper. It has a 94% void, can be installed in half the time of other older sytems and can be transported in half the space of older traditional systems due to being able to be stacked in an intertwining manner.
The strength of the Stormbreaker means a number of things in practice:
It can be used as a single layer under permeable paving.
It is perfect for tighter urban areas where there is a restriction on horizontal attenuation/infiltration space as it can be installed far deeper and therefore will yeild far more water holding space than other systems.
It requires less cover than other systems.
It can also be used as a quick installation single house soakaway by combining with a suitable textile surround as is the law in England now, to help prevent events such as the devastating flash flooding recently in Dublin.
BMS is a ‘one stop shop’ for all attenuation/infiltration requirements from design to installation. If you would like to know more please visit our website or contact us.
Tags: attenuation, Flooding, infiltration, SuDS
