Extreme weather events have become a recurrence in Australian news headlines over the past few years. Rainfall in 2022 was 26% above the 1961–1990 national average. This has resulted in major flood events in the eastern states throughout the year. Australia is not isolated in these events either, 2023 has started with two major weather events in the first two months for New Zealand. Tropical Cyclone Gabrielle recorded 300-400 mm of rainfall and Auckland received over 45% of its annual rainfall in January alone. The release of the latest assessment report from The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) identifies a trend for these extreme weather events to intensify in frequency.
With the above in mind, some consideration should be taken to futureproofing new developments to ensure surface water drainage is efficient and will prevent unnecessary flood damage to property. Our cities are becoming increasingly less permeable with a higher coverage of hard surfaces as they intensify. Allproof large-capacity surface water drainage systems efficiently remove surface water and help to mitigate any potential issues as rainfall intensifies.
Large 200 mm and 300 mm wide channels provide an excellent solution for draining large surface areas such as car parks, urban hardscaped zones, loading areas and high-density projects. Allproof’s large pits provide high-capacity stormwater drainage along with sediment collection to prevent local authority’s stormwater systems blocking. Allproof pits can be stand-alone or connected to a channel drain system.
Channel drain systems and pits include grates that have been designed to AS3996 specifications. Grates have been load class tested, providing a range of options from A-E catering for pedestrians through to large trucks and commercial freight vehicles. Lockdowns are included to prevent damage from grate movement knocking against the edges when exposed to traffic or dynamic wheel loads. Materials such as 316 stainless steel offer great solutions in marine or corrosive environments, glass-filled nylon grates provide an option when a permanent black finish is desired, while cast iron can be used to enhance aesthetics and provides excellent durability and strength.
Allproof manufactures plastic channel drains and pits from recycled Polypropylene, reducing the demand for virgin material and landfill. Allproof utilises solar energy to produce these recycled products, which are made at its production facility in Auckland. These factors are aimed at reducing the embodied carbon of drainage products, avoiding further escalation of the major weather events that have defined the past few years.
