You may not think too much about your gutters and downspouts. But the water has to properly drain somewhere. Here are 5 facts about the impact of downspout water.
1) For a home with a 1000 square foot roof, 1 inch of rainfall feeds 623 gallons of water into the gutters and downspouts. If the roof empties into 4 downspouts that aren’t extended, than means each spout is dumping 150 gallons of water beside your foundation.
2) Rain barrels can be used to collect and reuse rainwater for watering gardens and hold about 50 gallons each. Recently the City of Victoria has implemented a plan to compensate homeowners for utilizing captured rainwater. That one inch of rain from the previous example produces 623 gallons that could easily fill 12 barrels. With most homes having only one or two barrels, the rest of that water is going to end up next to your foundation.
3) If 1 inch of water produces that much runoff, imagine what happens on those days with much heavier rainfall.
4) Many homes have downspouts that are partially or completely clogged with leaves, debris, dirt, or are just going into a pipe to nowhere. During heavy rainstorms the velocity of water running into the downspouts is equal to filling a bathtub at full blast. With nowhere to go, water spills over the sides of gutters and lands right next to your foundation.
5) Anytime downspouts are unable to handle the volume of water it is a major contributor to basement seepage and foundation structural issues.
Why not give Wet Coast Drainage Solutions and our Victoria BC perimeter drain contractors a call today. We offer solutions that take the worry out of rainwater damage.
