Drainage Maintenance Services

At RSM, we provide a comprehensive range of essential services to ensure your site remains compliant and efficient. From interceptor cleaning and emptying to prevent pollution, to bund emptying and monitoring for spill containment, we’ve got you covered with our drainage maintenance services.

 

Our expertise extends to advanced interceptor and bund monitoring systems, giving you real-time updates and 24/7 protection. We also offer drain closure systems for emergency pollution containment, safeguarding your site and the environment.  

 

Trust RSM for expert support in environmental protection and compliance. 

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engineer jackhammering around a manhole cover on a street in front of an RSM van
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Available nationwide

We offer drainage surveying and cleaning services across the UK.

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Expert support

Our team of expert engineers are here to help conduct drainage maintenance and testing.

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State-of-the-art equipment

We can map out the most extensive drainage systems with CCTV cameras, robotics, and computer-aided design (CAD) technology.

pipe down an interceptor cleaning out the debris

Interceptor cleaning and emptying

Regular interceptor cleaning and emptying is a crucial part of keeping any site running efficiently. It’s also quintessential to avoiding costly downtime from a pollution incident as a consequence of a surface water or drainage issue.  

 

In addition to our 24/7 emergency spill response and fuel delivery services, we provide a national 24/7, 365-day emergency response service for all drainage support services, including interceptor cleaning and emptying.  

 

Interceptors (also known as oil, grease and water traps or separators) are fitted to your drainage system. They separate wastewater from oil, silt, dirt and any other harmful contaminants to prevent pollution to the local watercourse. The separated waste will remain in a chamber of the interceptor tank for emptying. 

 

You will find interceptor tanks on sites where there is an increased risk of vehicles leaking fuel and oil onto the ground. This includes; car parks, fire stations, supermarkets, garage forecourts, car wash bays, bus depots, retail parks and industrial yards where vehicle washing takes place. 

 

The Environment Agency recommends that interceptors are cleared every six months to avoid blockages and prevent the risk of pollution to the environment. A pollution event due to a poorly maintain or blocked interceptor increases the likelihood of a fine from the EA.  

 

Regular emptying will prevent a build-up of silt and contaminants which will reduce the capacity, increasing the risk of pollution. It’s crucial that each interceptor is alarmed, and is part of a regular and scheduled maintenance programme.  

Bund Emptying and Cleaning

A bund, or bund wall, is a constructed barrier or retaining wall that surrounds storage tanks, vessels, or processing areas, in industrial settings. It is designed to capture spills or leaks of potentially polluting or hazardous substances, such as oil or chemicals, and contain them for safe recovery and disposal. 

 

Bunds are built to hold a capacity greater than the volume of the primary container, usually up to 110%, to ensure any accidental spills are adequately contained. 

 

Compliance – in some cases industry regulations mean that customers have a mandatory requirement to maintain a bund so that it is in a clearly functional state. Scheduled cleaning and emptying are typically part of maintenance programmes designed to ensure customers are complying with the environmental and safety laws set our by the Government.  

 

Capacity – bunds are designed to contain up to 110% of the tank or systems they surround. If they are full or partially filled with other substances or rainwater then their ability to contain is reduced. Regular emptying ensures that the bund can hold.  

bund and interceptor monitor next to a parking lot

Bund and interceptor monitoring

Oil interceptors can often be forgotten assets and so to prevent them reaching capacity, in the event there is a blockage or pollution event within their 6 monthly inspections, it’s good practice to have a monitoring and alarm system in place. Alarms can be simple “local” systems which link to an above ground beacon, or can be more advanced systems which link to online portals or your Building Management System (BMS) and show you the oil and/or sludge level present in real time. 

 

Interceptors are usually supported by a basic alarm which meets the BSEN 858-1:2002 standards, however, if fitted incorrectly or in some cases not at all, then the interceptor is in fact pointless – giving a false sense of security as the alarm is on show – but is in fact not working at all (a common issue our trained staff come across). Decades of experience in maintaining oil interceptors has allowed us to develop our expertise in the supply, installation, maintenance, servicing and repair of oil interceptor alarm systems. 

 

We are experienced in working with all makes of interceptor alarms including Labkotec, Darcy, Aquasentry, Pyramid, and Kingspan and are happy to take over the maintenance contracts for currently installed systems and also install our own brand.  

 

Our trained RSM operatives are able to conduct specific interceptor alarm maintenance visits and we also conduct maintenance as part of our PPM contracts where we undertake an assessment into the functionality of the alarm and test it. If we find that the alarm is faulty during an inspection, we will do our best to repair the alarm during the same visit, however for some issues a revisit will be necessary to complete the alarm repair. 

 

To ensure you are protected 24/7 from your interceptor’s oil capacity being exceeded, we provide a turnkey solution. We have developed an online portal which interacts with your interceptor oil alarm. Once we receive a high oil alarm alert, we will send you a warning message via email or text to inform you that your interceptor needs checking and can activate a 24/7 emergency response team to investigate, and if necessary, empty the oil as soon as possible. 

 

We can monitor an unlimited amount of interceptors and our unique web-based interface makes identification of faults effortless. As well as monitoring all interceptors for you we can provide you with log-in details so that you can see, in real time, the status of all your interceptors. 

 

RSM can give you 24/7, 365 days of protection from your interceptor and bunds oil capacity being reached. We have a remote accessible portal system which allows us to monitor and be made aware of an alarm immediately and through a number of alert types (text msg, email, phone call). Once we are made aware of a high oil alert we take action immediately – typically mobilising our emergency spill response service.

Drain closure systems

A drain closure device is a pollution containment valve (or drain closure device) which can be used in emergency situations to seal off your drain or bund. This isolation method prevents any pollutants from escaping the site or entering a drainage system, and effectively turns your drainage into tertiary containment. Situations which would require the use of a drain closure device would include fuel tank spillages, spillages generally, fires or during high risk situations e.g. bulk fuel deliveries. It is installed within your “at risk” drains and at a point where you wish to prevent any contaminants passing, often on the boundary of your site or where a drain is near to a waterway, or a system which will backfill in the event of an incident. 

 

A drain closure device can be operated both manually and set to respond in an automated fashion.  

 

All businesses and sites can benefit from the installation of a drain closure device. Especially if you have a particularly high-risk site or large quantities of stored liquid bulk fuel. The cost of preventing an environmental incident by installing a closure device will be a fraction of the cost of a fine and clean-up costs that would be associated with a large-scale spill or firewater incident.  

Why choose RSM?

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Expert support

Our team of experts have the skills and experience to take the stress out of your fuel delivery and tank maintenance requirements.

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Nationwide

RSM cover the whole of the UK and Ireland. Our fleet of vehicles can convey anything from 500 litres to 36,000 litres.

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Quality service

Our core values drive everything we do. Our customers value our quality stress-free service that is people-focused, flexible and dependable.

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Solution-focused

Our consultative approach to working with our clients ensures we unearth the right solutions to keep your organisation running smoothly.

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Cost-effective

Whatever RSM service you might need; you can rest assured the solution we provide for you will be cost-effective.

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Here for you

No matter where you are based in the UK, we’re here to deliver expert support when you need it – 24/7, 365 days a year.

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