With the typically narrow width of its many rural lanes, East Sussex County Council considered traditional drainage solutions for some persistent flooding areas to be unsuitable, as there was a serious risk of traffic getting stuck in the road’s side drains. This represented a perfect opportunity to trial Hydraway’s uniquely narrow fin-drain solution for cost-effective roadway drainage.

Following the carriageway’s edges being dug out, Hydraway was installed against the outside face of the road and covered with foam concrete to a depth of 75-100mm. This easy installation method, combined with Hydraway’s rapid drainage performance and rugged, durable construction made it the perfect choice for the job.

Three years following the installation, two independent observers examined the Hydraway installation. On the day of inspection, it was raining, but the lane was not running with water as it had been prior to the Hydraway installation. A test hole was dug, exposing the outside face to half its depth, and the geotextile was observed to be clean. Subsequently, a small incision was made in the top of the Hydraway’s geotextile to allow the insertion of a borescope to evaluate the internal performance of the drain.

This revealed that the drain was still working effectively, with the foam concrete having adhered to the outer geotextile layer as intended, whilst surface water was still able to easily make its way into the unblocked core of the drain. Additionally, it was noted that there were no signs of pavement pumping, which had been observed prior to the Hydraway installation.