The Rainy Season Has Arrived

In case you were wondering, it's official-the start of the rainy season is here.  For those of you new to South Florida (it's a Capital S to me whether its right or wrong), we have two kinds of weather.  Wet and dry.  It's that simple.  The humidity is about to soar, temperatures are already high and pretty soon if you add the heat index to the percent humidity in the air you get close to 200!

With the start of the rainy season here we have already begun to receive calls relating to drainage problems.  This is when we begin to find out what systems are working and which are not.  Mostly we notice when something is not working.  When was the last time you jumped out of bed and said, "Oh, good, my alarm clock is still working!".  No, human nature being what it is we usually find out that the damn thing is broken by default.  "Oh crap,  look at the time, that damn (or other expletive) thing isn't working!".  So it goes with the much overlooked drainage systems that toil to keep us moving freely about during all kinds of inclement weather.

So we get calls when buildings are flooding because the existing site drainage doesn't work anymore.  Or that parking lot out back is flooded and the boss is pissed!  Or a particular road where businesses can't get through because whenever it rains, it becomes the Mississippi River.  It seems that the one little pipe that was put in back who knows when that no one has thought twice about in 20 years has finally given up.  This happens all over time if neglected.  We don't forget to change the oil in our cars if we want it to work in the morning.  Yet the equivalent of this is never checking your storm drainage system to see whether or not it needs cleaning.  It functions a lot like your septic tank.  For my neighbors in Miami Shores you all know what I mean.  If you don't clean it out every so often, it will fill up with (no, not that) sediments.  In the case of storm drains it's mostly sand and particulates that get into the pipes and clog the drains.  Once the drain field (much like my septic tank analogy) is completely clogged it must be replaced.  You can clean it out, but it's probably a waste of money.  Like your septic tank, you might get a few more flushes out of it.....but then, right when your entire family is supposed to be at your house for Thanksgiving dinner you'll get a nasty wake-up call!

For more information about drainage solutions, go to our website at http://www.westhorp.com/Stormwater-Management.  Or call us at 305.759.4757.

Cheers!