Mansfield and Ashfield residents urged to report blocked drains as part of summer gully cleansing drive

Via East Midlands, the council’s highways partner, will work alongside gully cleansing contractor Flowline to undertake cleaning works this summer, in addition to the council’s year-round maintenance programme on Nottinghamshire’s 185,000 highway gullies and drains.

While all gullies are cleaned and their condition is logged on a regular basis, blockages can occur between cleanses, so the council and Via are asking residents and road users to let them know about any problems.

These are the four types of gully blockage which should be reported, including a visible blockage in gully, a gully full to/above the top with debris, standing water pooling around a gully while other areas are clear and water visible in a gully, but no debris.

This information will be used to create a programme of additional gully cleanses through the summer months, as well as informing the wider gully cleansing programme.

Coun Neil Clarke, council cabinet member for transport and environment, said: “The drainage infrastructure on our roads and pavements in the county does an important job to keep our highways safe and reducing the risk of flooding.

“The Via East Midlands team do the vital work of ensuring that our drains and gullies are kept clean with all gullies being cleansed on a regular basis, but there are times where gullies may become blocked or are unable to cope with particularly heavy rainfall.

“We all need to play our part in helping to keep water draining correctly from our highway network.”

The council also reminds residents not to use highway drains to dispose of their waste. This includes cooking fat, paint, and other liquids, or other waste items which can block or contaminate the drains.

Residents should recycle waste wherever possible, dispose of it in the bin, or take to a household waste site.

As part of the programme, residents are being asked to log details of blocked drains and gullies in their area, along with a photograph of the gully, by using a simple online form at viaem.co.uk/summer-gully-cleanse