MAIN FEATURE
drain TRADER
ARTICLE WRITTEN BY IAN CLARKE
ian@nodigmedia.co.uk
Gully Cleaning – The Modern Way
Gully (sometimes speltGulley but not here) cleaning is an area that inmany instances is one of those things simply becomes an irritant becausewe only ever really come across itwhen the operation is being undertaken on the roadwe are driving along andwe have towait as themobile traffic control decideswhether or not it is our turn to pass it by. Those of us that are associated with the industry do understand just how important it is however aswe understand just howdisruptive it can getwhen gullies are not cleaned effectively or regularly.
First perhapswe should look atwhat a gully actually is. According to themajor English dictionaries a Gully, in itswidest sense, is a channel carryingwater. In residential properties, Gullywill usually refer to the open grill and the ‘pot’ beneath at the foot of a downpipewhich collectswater such as rain or wastewater that gets discharged fromthe downpipe. The gully then allows thiswater to be channelled into the underground drainage
system. This can also be termed a gully trap when it is a basin in the ground that receives pipedwastewater froma house/property before it enters the underground sewer/ wastewater pipe network. The basin has a water seal to prevent odours reaching the surface.Well-made gully traps prevent sewage flowing into a property or public pipes.
For those of youwith amore geographic bent a Gully can also be defined as a ravine formed by the action ofwater or in the sporting sense, Gully is a fielding position on the off side of the field between point and the slips. The term may also refer to the drainage ditch beside a roadway thatmay ormay not be connected to themain roadside drainage system. Depending onwhere you live in theworld it may also be termed a channel, ditch, chasm, crevasse, ravine, arroyo, couloir, gorge, gulch, hollowor valley, depending on the gully you are looking at.
For our purposes howeverwewill look at the roadside gullies thatwe aremost familiarwith
4 drain TRADER | October 2020 |
www.draintraderltd.com and howthey aremaintained over time.
Aswe all knowroadside gullies are designed to handle surfacewater and to retain debris, usually leaves and silts, to prevent them entering the drainage systemwith the potential for causing pipe blockages and localised flooding. Globalwarming is adding to the risk of increased flooding associatedwith year on year, sometimes, record levels of rainfall in certain areas.Other factors such as increased development also add extra strain on systems as areas are built on and natural drainage routes are covered over. Therefore, the need for cleaning road gullies has become evenmore significant and relevant and by the looks of thingswill continue to do so.Whether as part of an ongoingmaintenance plan or a one-off emergency fix, the availability of gully cleaning equipment and the necessary support systems and disposal options are increasingly important particularlywhen looking at the legislation requirements theymustmeet.
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