A culvert carries a burn, ditch or surface water under a road, track, field entrance or yard. When it silts up or chokes with debris, the water finds another route — usually across the track, into the field or towards buildings. We clean culverts with high pressure water jetting, cutting out silt, gravel and vegetation so the water flows through again. Call 07427 195142 to arrange a visit.
Why culverts block
Culverts sit in the landscape and the landscape keeps moving. Silt and gravel wash in with every spate, leaves and branches lodge at the inlet, and vegetation grows into the ends. Pipes that are slightly undersized, laid flat or damaged let material settle instead of washing through. Left for a few seasons, a culvert can lose most of its bore without anyone noticing — until a heavy rain.
The warning signs are water ponding at the inlet, a track that floods where it never used to, or a ditch that overtops before the culvert rather than flowing through it.
How we clean a culvert
Jetting is the main tool: a high pressure hose with a suitable nozzle is worked through the pipe, cutting silt and gravel off the bore and flushing it downstream. Larger debris at the ends is removed by hand or machine first. Where the culvert is long or heavily silted, it may take several passes, working with the flow so the material carries away rather than compacting.
If the jetting reveals damage — a crushed section, a collapsed joint or a pipe that has parted — cleaning alone will not hold. We will tell you what we find; depending on the pipe, culvert repair by excavation and replacement of the failed section may be needed.
Whose job is it?
As a general rule in Scotland, the owner of the land a watercourse runs through is responsible for maintaining it, including culverts on their land — this is the riparian owner principle. Culverts under public roads are usually the roads authority's concern. If a blocked culvert is flooding a neighbour's land or a public road, it is worth dealing with promptly, because the liability questions that follow flooding are much harder than the cleaning.
Working around watercourses
Culvert cleaning is maintenance of an existing structure, which is generally straightforward, but work in or around a watercourse can be controlled — SEPA regulates certain activities affecting the water environment. Routine clearing of silt and debris to keep a culvert flowing is normally fine; anything more involved, such as replacing or extending a culvert, may need authorisation. If your job is more than a clean, we will say so and you can check with SEPA before work starts.
Keeping culverts clear
A culvert that is jetted out and then checked after the autumn leaves and the winter spates will rarely block badly. Screens at the inlet can catch branches, though they need clearing themselves. The cheapest culvert clean is the one done before the water goes over the track.
Questions
How do I know if my culvert is blocked?
Water ponding at the inlet, the ditch or burn overtopping before the culvert, or flooding on the track or land downstream in rain are the usual signs.
Can a culvert be jetted like a drain?
Yes — the same high pressure jetting equipment is used, worked through the pipe to cut out silt and gravel and flush it downstream. Heavily silted culverts may need several passes.
What affects the cost of culvert cleaning?
The length and diameter of the culvert, how silted it is, access for the jetting equipment, and whether debris has to be removed from the ends by machine. We price it after a look.
Who is responsible for a blocked culvert?
Usually the owner of the land it runs through, under the riparian owner principle. Culverts under public roads are generally the roads authority's responsibility.