Blocked Gullies
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Our Aim:
To attend and clean all the gullies in the city at least once every year and to have at least 93% of the total number of gullies clear, so that they are able to receive and remove surface water running from the highway.
Facts & Figures
- There are over 72,000 highway gullies in Sheffield
- We clean all of them at least once per year
What we do
There are over 72,000 highway drainage gullies in the city of Sheffield.
We aim to attend and clean all the gullies in the city at least once every year and to have at least 93% of the total number of gullies clear, so that they are able to receive and remove surface water running from the highway.
There are areas of the city that are known to be prone to highway flooding and the gullies in these locations are cleaned on a 3 monthly cycle. There are over 70 such sites citywide.
We also aim to clean all blocked gullies that are reported to us within 20 working days of receipt of the report, provided we can gain access.
Therefore, taking into account the annual cleaning, the 3 monthly programme and the blocked gully reports, we clear over 80,000 gullies per year.
Access problems
In some areas of the city, we have severe problems gaining access to gullies to clean them due to the presence of parked cars. In these areas advance notice of the proposed gully cleaning is given by putting up temporary signs asking residents not to park and where necessary, the properties are leafleted.
Other special arrangements that have been made include cleaning the gullies along the Supertram route at night when the trams are not running.
If a blocked gully cannot be cleared it is added to a list of gullies requiring repair or replacement.
Prioritisation
This work is then prioritised against all the highway drainage problems across the city, taking into account the level and frequency of any flooding that is being caused, the type of road and the amount of traffic on the road.
For example, repeated flooding across the whole width of a busy road would take priority over minor flooding on a residential side road.
Some technical information
Whilst some gullies are connected to dedicated highway drains or watercourses this is not the norm and the majority are connected to public sewers that carry both foul and surface water.
The public sewer system is owned and maintained by Yorkshire Water Services Limited.
Due to the age of some of these sewers (in many cases over 100 years old) when prolonged steady rainfall or short bursts of very heavy rainfall occurs the systems that the gullies connect to can become full. This then prevents further flow of water entering the system from the gullies.
Ponding or flooding
This can result in surface ponding or flooding and give the appearance that gullies are blocked. In such cases, the ponding or flooding clears quickly when the rain stops and the level of flow in the sewer drops allowing the gullies to work.
The majority of gullies have a water trap to prevent foul odours venting back from sewers into the atmosphere. This causes water to be visible in the gully, however, standing water in a gully pot is normal and not an indication that a gully is blocked.
How You Can Help
Please report any problems to our helpline on (0114) 273 4567, or you can Contact Street Force by mini-com (for hard of hearing people), fax, letter, e-mail or online.
Which ever way you choose to contact us please, if possible, tell us:
- What the problems is
- Where the problem is e.g. blocked gully outside No 15 Blank Street