The Price Of Neglect

We recently completed a post-acquisition of an industrial estate in Kent for a valued client. It was one of the largest sites we have inspected at 55 acres. 

The overall condition of the site was poor. As the drainage system had not been maintained, a program of de-silting works was required to remove the build up of silt, debris and scale from the pipework and chambers to allow a full inspection to take place. 

The site featured over 700 manholes, over 1,300 sections of pipe and nearly 14km of below-ground drainage pipes. 

The key issues found included: 

• Over 1000 defects to be repaired by patch lining or excavation 
• 46 oil interceptors in need of maintenance to remain effective
• 4 pumping chambers requiring service
• Mis-connections of surface-water to the foul system
• Treatment plant discharging to a watercourse in a GWSPZ 1
• Groundwater ingress in numerous chambers increasing flooding risk 

A large amount of repair work was discovered posing a significant liability that would have been invaluable to have understood at the pre-acquisition stage.

A key concern was the fact the site is positioned on a GWSPZ 1 (Ground Water Source Protection Zone). Groundwater in this area directly supplies drinking water so the consequences of any contamination are high. 

As there are oil interceptors on site, it is especially important to ensure they are regularly serviced to ensure they remain in correct working order as oil pollution has serious consequences. Polluting groundwater is also often irreversible as it is unreachable as well as being a criminal offence. 

Although inspecting the drainage system ahead of an investment acquisition is important, there are also a number of benefits to maintaining the drainage system of assets in the long term. 

In this case, it would have prevented:

• De-silting works for inspection purposes – an additional cost for the initial inspection
• Defects that now require excavations to correct – these are more costly than a patch repair and are potentially disruptive to business as usual 
• Potentially committing a criminal offence due to the treatment plant discharging to a watercourse in a GWSPZ 1 so may require re-routing
• A risk of flooding due to groundwater ingress 
• A substantial amount of drainage repair work and maintenance work/servicing to restore optimal efficiency
• A reduction in the overall value of the asset 

We pride ourselves on conducting a thorough and accurate account of the system to fully inform the client of all risks and costs associated. Our reports feature a 5-year Planned Preventative Maintenance (PPM) plan as standard, developed by our drainage consultants bespoke to the site. 

All repair and maintenance work we recommend is done in the best interest of the site, providing a service that is as cost efficient yet as effective as possible.