What Can Go Wrong with Soakwells?

A soakwell, also called a storm pit, drywell or soak hole, is an underground reservoir that catches water runoff and slowly disperses water to the surrounding soil. A soak well is an important part of a property because it prevents water build-up that may affect the structural integrity of buildings and other structures above or near them.

 

Whether you own a residential or commercial property, you must ensure that your soakwell system is properly maintained. Even if containing water runoff is not a problem in your area, keeping a well-managed soakwell can protect not only your property but also neighbouring properties should unexpected weather conditions happen.

 

What Can Go Wrong with Your Soakwell?

 

A faulty soakwell system can result in many problems. It can cause the surrounding soil to absorb too much rainwater quickly, and eventually result in sinking pavers, grass or concrete. Rainwater can also rise and dampen walls, floors and footing. If wooden structures are above the soakwell, the rising water could rot and weaken the wood.

 

You might deal with the following issues if the soakwell in your property is not efficiently managed.

 

A Soakwell deteriorates and collapses.

If the soakwell in your property is made from poor quality materials, it can collapse faster than expected. If the paving above the soakwell sinks or you see sand rising through, this could mean that the soakwell is damaged or has collapsed.

 

A soakwell is unable to control heavy runoff.

Besides using poor construction materials, another reason a soakwell could underperform is when it cannot retain the expected volume of water that enters it. To prevent this, you or your soakwell contractor must calculate the soakwell volume capacity based on the size of the catchment area. Upon calculating the volume capacity, you can either replace the existing soakwell or install additional soakwells.

 

Soakwell is filled with debris.

 

Sand, debris, or other sediments can enter the soakwell along with water. These materials can also penetrate if there are gaps in the soakwell’s lid. When there’s too much material inside the soakwell, they can block the holes in the soakwell’s walls, preventing water to seep out of it. This may lead to soakwell damage or collapse if left untreated. To remedy this, you can hire soakwell cleaning services to remove materials and clean the soakwell. You can also prevent materials from seeping inside the soakwell by installing a filter on the drain line or cleaning gutters and pipes regularly.

Avoid most of these problems with properly by having Dobson Excavation take care of the soakwell installation.

Posted in Dobson Excavations.