Infiltration

Infiltration is the preferred method of managing stormwater in permeable soils when a downstream discharge network is not present or permitted. A soakaway will allow water to soak from the system into a gravel sub-base which will temporarily hold water before allowing it to seep into the ground.

Soakaways Infiltration

For this application our Rainsmart soakaway crates are wrapped in needle punched non-woven geotextile before being buried in porous permeable soil. A pre-filter such as a silt trap or catchpit is also recommended for upstream debris removal.

Modern soakaway crates are a far better option than traditional gravel and pipe-based systems. Our Rainsmart crates have a 95% void ratio compared to 30% in traditional gravel and pipe-based systems. This means that you’ll need a smaller footprint for the same storage volume which will significantly save on installation costs while causing minimal site disruption.

Utilising Infiltration as a SuDS technique?

An infiltration drainage application is used for holding stormwater underground and allowing it to disperse, or infiltrate into the surrounding soil at a controlled rate with the highest quality of water possible. Stormwater usually enters the system from the guttering of a property, once it flows through the downpipe and into the underground drainage pipes, it can enter an infiltration system.

The Soakaway System Infiltration Process

An infiltration system will most often start with a pre-filter that removes any silt or fine sediment in the water
After cleaning water flows into the main part of the system - soakaway crates wrapped in a membrane. The crate system is where the water is temporarily stored
The crates are completely wrapped in a permeable membrane to ensures that the surrounding soil does not make its way into the system and that stormwater leaves the system in a controlled way.
Water seeps out of the system into the soil at a controlled rate.

If you are looking for assistance with an infiltration project then we can help.