FERRING ROADS SCHEME ASSOCIATION
Understanding the Drainage System in Ferring
All FRSA roads in Ferring do not have mains drainage, they are all services by gully pots and soakaways. So we thought it may be helpful to our residents to know how a ‘gully pot’ works and ‘soakaway’ works
The above simple diagram is a cross section of a gully pot in the ground. The pot is watertight and accepts surface drainage water, including any debris, into its lower chamber. When the water level reaches the outlet pipe it runs away down the connected drainpipe into a soakaway dug for the purpose of receiving that water.
Should the sediment build up to above the level of the outlet pipe, water cannot leave by that pipe and the pot will overflow onto the road. This is why the gully pots have to be sucked clean on a regular basis.
If we experience a very heavy rainfall the water that normally drains into the soakaway can temporarily overtake the soakaways capacity thus causing the pot to overflow, although usually this will clear in a short time once the rain has ceased.
We have a very aging drainage system currently in Ferring, a lot of the gully pots and pipes leading to the soakaways have root ingression and are damage and cracked, which compounds the matter of rain water draining away, which in turn leads to flooding. Our drainage systems are so important for the preservation of those roads.
A plan is being put in place to replace these damaged and cracked over the next few years. As you can appreciate this is will be a costly programme of works to undertake.
Works
The programme of works involved flushing through the drains plus using high pressure jetting apparatus, where required, to clear debris and silt build up; as well as carrying out internal camera surveys of the system, to identify root ingress or damaged pipe work, followed by either the repair of any faults found or the replacement of sections of drainage pipe as dictated by each problem found. It also included the inspection and repair of any brickwork associated with gully pots on the system, and in some cases the replacement or refurbishment of soakaways, which are an integral part of the overall drainage capability within the Village. Clearing all the gully pots of sediment build-up, using suction vehicles, also is undertaken on a regular basis.
Winter road sweep to minimise blockage to the all important drainage systems.
Support
It may surprise some of you to learn of the extent of the road system covered by the FRSA. If laid end to end, the roads we cover would stretch nearly 8.5 miles (13km), there are about 4/5 miles of underground drainage pipes, and over 200 gully pots and associated soakaways. This system is what your annual subscription helps to maintain.
Organising the above works and collecting the road fees does involve a lot of work, and volunteers that give of their time freely manage it all. The effort is well worth it when we can all enjoy the benefits it gives our lovely Village. The Committee thank you for your continued support.
We are disappointed when any resident or owner still chooses not to pay their road fee. We spend a considerable amount of time writing to these residents to try to understand why they believe that their fee should be subsidised by others. We must remind those that continue to withhold payment that, although we have taken a lenient line to date so as to ensure that the integrity of the roads and drainage systems within Ferring are maintained, in future we will have to apply the rules for non-payment of the road fee as laid out in the Constitution, which would mean their properties may be removed from the Scheme. This would result in no work being carried out on any section of road that has frontage to those properties, and no insurance cover, under our third party insurance scheme, being available to those residents.
Removing a property from the Scheme is certainly not what we wish to do but the onus is on each resident to ensure that the road and drainage is in good condition outside their own property. The FRSA is willing to undertake this responsibility on their behalf, but only if these residents are prepared to shoulder their share of the cost burden.
We need support from all residents to ensure our village remains as beautiful as it currently is.