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Pre-Acqusition Drainage Assessments

WJ Shirley’s PADA is a unique service tailored especially for pre-acquisition commercial property investment. Constantly developed and improved from experience over the last 50 years, it is designed for modern market conditions and to meet the needs of investors and due diligence surveyors.

CCTV Surveys

CCTV surveys are widely available from many contractors, however WJ Shirley is able to add value to a standard CCTV survey by providing an interpretation and context to the results, together with a professional quality report of the findings and clear recommendations and associated costs. In addition, WJ Shirley do not undertake drain repairs or maintenance so there is no potential conflict of interest of identifying defects we would benefit from repairing so you can be assured we work only in the client’s interest. It is commonplace these days to request a CCTV for anything to do with drains, however there is much more to making an informed assessment about a site’s drainage than a CCTV alone can provide as shown in the table below.

Water Tests

New drains should be water tested to check for leaks but this technique is also useful for testing the structural integrity of other drains and can often pick up integrity defects not found with CCTV surveys. It is especially useful for testing domestic drainage assets.

Oil interceptors are needed in car parks typically larger than 800 sqm in area or for 50 or more car parking spaces Close quotes

-Environment Agency

Contact WJ Shirley for a quote...

A Comparison of the Drainage Services Available

Service	Pre-Acquisition Drainage Assessment (PADA)	CCTV	Water Tests
What is it?	A specialist service developed over the last 50 years to assess a site's drainage in relation to commercial property investment. Involves site research, site walkover, drain inspection from manholes.	A video camera which can be pushed through a below-ground drain drain pipe.	Drain lengths are blocked off then backfilled with water and the level monitored over time.
Purpose	To assist in pre-acquisition decision-making, help with the legal side of purchase and form the basis of a post-acquisition asset management/maintenance programme.	The best way to visually inspect the whole of a below-ground drain pipe section.	The most accurate way to test the structural/operational integrity of a drain length.
Summary	High level, strategic, multi-discipline for pre-acquisition decision-making.	Low level, technical visual assessment.	Low level, technical determination of structural/operational pipe integrity.
Suitability	Commercial property investment pre-acquisition, due diligence. Can be used in conjunction with CCTV survey or water tests.	Maintenance programmes, refurbishments, repair works, determining particular problems. Can be used in conjunction with a PADA.	Maintenance programmes, refurbishments, repair works, commissioning new drains. Can be used in conjunction with a PADA.

Coverage of the Services Available

Service		Pre-Acquisition Drainage Assessment (PADA)	CCTV	Water Tests
CONDITION	Underground drain pipes
	Inspection chambers
	Inspection covers
OPERATION	Underground drain pipes
	Inspection chambers
	Inspection covers
ENVIRONMENTAL RISK	Oil storage and interception
	Waste storage
	Materials storage
	Refuelling facilities
	Vehicle wash-downs
	Site specific factors
LEGAL	Drainage outfalls
LEGAL	Shared drainage
DRAINAGE NETWORKS	Drainage network types
DRAINAGE NETWORKS	Drainage status
SUSTAINABILITY	Sustainability
DESIGN	Design and suitability
	Materials
	Access
ASSESSMENT	Assessment & Outlook

What you receive

Interim summary		We can usually supply an interim summary verbally or by email the same day as the inspection, with a full, professional quality report that is easy to understand, to follow a couple of days later, or earlier when necessary to fit in with your timescales.
Drainage plan		Visualise where the drains run and where they leave the site and also where any shared drains enter the site. This is useful for asset management, maintenance and to help your solicitors purchase the correct easements to legally allow drainage from the site. There may be 'as built' drawings available but we find more often than not, discrepancy with what is actually on the ground.
Asset schedule		See clearly what drainage assets are on site and where they are. This can form the basis of an asset management/maintenance programme following purchase.
Condition schedule		A full schedule of the current structural and operational condition of the drainage assets identified.
Assessment & context		Are there any strategic problems? How suitable are the drains for the requirements of the site.
Future outlook		An assessment of likely future maintenance costs based on the information available.
Recommendations		A clear list of remedial action that we recommend is supplied, broken down by the level urgency, reason for the recommendation (e.g. maintenance, statutory, best-practice) and type (e.g. inspection chambers, pollution prevention, underground pipes etc.). We do not carry out drainage repairs so you can be sure there is no conflict of interest of identifying repairs that we could profit from repairing, and that we work only in the best interests of the client.
Associated costs		Budget costs for the work we recommend are supplied as a working guide.

When to have a PADA

Many of our clients instruct a PADA as a matter of course when considering an investment. We are happy to undertake a PADA at any time but we would recommend the best time to commission one is when appointing a Building Survey or Phase 1 Environmental. It is sometimes the practice to wait until after the building survey to see if the surveyor recommends one but we consider this a risky business as many drainage liabilities do not present themselves on the surface.