You’ve probably seen them as you drive along the motorway: massive warehouses and distribution centres surrounded by acres of hardstanding full of lorries which are crucial for operations.

Out of town supermarkets, garden centres and leisure facilities also need expansive parking and unloading areas that are safe and accessible throughout the year.

For such large areas of surface to remain trouble-free in the unpredictable UK climate, despite high volumes of HGV’s, forklift trucks, delivery vans and private vehicles movements, then effective drainage is crucial.

The demands on a busy parking area  

One of the largest distribution centres in the UK is the Amazon Fulfilment Centre near Dunfermline. Employing 3000 people and measuring 1.5 million square feet in area, it occupies the space of 17 football pitches. The centre processes more than 100,000 packages a day and needs 141 lorry docking ports.

For such a large scale and complex operation, it’s easy to forget that underneath the surface of this and similar busy logistics centres across the UK there needs to be a reliable and effective network of channels and drains. These keep the hardstanding in good order and prevent problems that could hamper operations.

If you are running a busy 24/7 operation, constant heavy traffic will cause even a well-built hardstanding to deteriorate, damaging any drainage system underneath it. Flooded areas, caused by heavy rain that can’t flow away quickly enough, will also degrade the surface material.

And, if the temperature drops, standing water can freeze, making the surface dangerous to drive on and liable to breaking up.

Drainage solutions

To avoid flooding, surface damage or even subsidence, industrial drainage systems at busy logistics hubs must be robust and have the capacity to cope with large and sudden flows of water.

There are a number of solutions to make sure a lorry or carpark remains free of standing water.

  • Channel drains are long, narrow trenches covered by gratings that have the capacity to remove rainwater from the surrounding surface and carry it away into public sewers.
  • French drains are trenches filled with gravel that allows standing water to be directed away from parking surfaces.
  • Catch basins collect and store rainwater and any other run-off from the carparking surface.
  • Combined kerb drains are another solution, edging a hardstanding area with a kerb that incorporates internal drainage channels to stop water from collecting at the boundaries of a parking area.

Businesses that take their environmental responsibilities seriously also incorporate petrol traps, or interceptors into their drainage systems to help prevent pollution to surrounding areas. These devices capture any oil or petrol spillages, separating it from rainwater and preventing it from entering the sewer system.

Lorry park drain maintenance and repair

Regular maintenance prevents small problems from turning into large ones. It’s important to ensure that drains are clear and flowing freely to prevent flooding, so gratings need to be regularly cleared of any build-up of rubbish or leaves, especially in the autumn and winter. Drains should also be routinely inspected for damage or blockages.

At Drain and Sewer services we have 50 years of experience building our expertise across the south of England in dealing with drainage and flooding problems. We offer a full range of CCTV surveying and drain repair services, able to able to locate problems and repair them quickly with minimal disruption to operations.

We are NRSWA Streetworks accredited to repair surfaces and make good repairs to tarmac and block surfaces and can work on roads, pavements and driveways safely.

Contact Drain and Sewer Services for a free estimate

If you would like to talk to Drains and Sewer Services about our services, regular maintenance contract or 24-hour emergency call-out services, call us on 01252 312738 or email info@drainandsewer.co.uk for more information or a quote.