why doesn't this rain go down the drains like it used too?

Answer 1

In the UK to comply with building regulations and planning all rainwater must be channeled away from buildings and roads. Farmers use intensive farming and agricultural methods (heavy machinery which compacts soil and leeches nutrients) which means that the soil is no longer open soil that drains water away. On top of this more and more of our land is being built on and more and more roads are being constructed.

So in short, instead of draining water away we should be keeping water on the land/gardens where it is needed. Instead we are covering more and more of the land with asphalt (bitumen).

Drainage systems are not designed to carry so much water. However, Nature is perfectly designed to disperse large amounts of water and store it. So it is because of asphalt. We are asses and its our fault (asphalt = assfault).

Springbank03 - Local Councils do not take hypothecated taxes. Your Council Tax is going to fund the Police, Prison Service etc and if you live in Hull (my uncle lives nearby) it is going on CTV cameras in the town center so they can watch you boating down the road.

Answer 2

I'm guessing if you're asking a question about the rain it's because you're in the UK...

The rain normally would go down the drain but the weather these past few days has been exceptionally wet in some places. With five days to go until the end of the month June has already broken the record for the wettest June on record. Many places have received a months worth of rainfall in less than a day. The problem is the sheer volume of water, if we were to adapt the drain and sewerage system to cope with the present amount of water it would mean replacing pretty much all of the infrastructure.

Answer 3

Good question. I thought as we were all suffering from acid rain these days it would melt any debris stuck in the drain, perhaps that is just a myth like global warming.

Seriously though, the drains are the same shape and size since forever but millions more householders use them with washing machines/dishwashers, etc. So the volume of water passing through is much larger coupled with the heavy rain they simply cannot cope.

Answer 4

The storm drains weren't designed to take the volume of water that has been falling in some places over the last few days! Also if you look at old maps you will see that rivers have been artificially narrowed over the years - the Thames in London being the most obvious - and politicians have encouraged building on the flood plains of many rivers so that the water has nowhere else to go except down the inadequate storm drains!

It is going to get worse, especially in Kent, as our good 'friend' Prescott has said that thousands more houses have to be built on flood plains.

Answer 5

In Sheffield it is because it is too hilly and all the rain in the drains and on the roads flows to the lowest point, which then can't cope. Usually drain water remains fairly equal at all points, but not for us! The volume of water is so much higher than it was when the drains were designed.

Answer 6

There is too much rain falling for the drains to cope. We never had weather like this before until recently.

Answer 7

Our drains are not made to take as much rain as we are getting at the minute and the level of downfall is way too much which as a result of that they are becoming blocked with debris... when will this rain stop?

Answer 8

we do not have rain like we used to have a few years ago.wet winters are a thing of a past lately.so they are never cleaned out.but you cannot blame the drains for the volume of rain that has fallen over the last month..we should get used to this in the near future.

Answer 9

there's too much rain to go down the narrow drains.


for example, if you take a funnel and turn on the tap, it overflows.


same thing really just with rain and a drain! :)

Answer 10

Council tax revenue is taken for the council!
Not to clean drains or even build a new effective drainage system that homes will not get flooded.

So why pay council tax?