Brisbane’s storm season hits hard every year. From October to March, we get around 800 mm of rain. While most people worry about the amount of water falling from the sky, the real trouble starts once all that rushing water picks up everything in its path.
However, good property owners act early to get ahead of this problem. They use professional street cleaning before storm season and keep things tidy. At Brisbane Sweeping, we’ve helped countless properties avoid flooding disasters and protect our local environment.
In this article, we’ll explain why waste causes these problems. You’ll also learn how professional cleaning delivers results that are impossible with regular maintenance.
Ready to get your property prepared for storm season? Let’s begin.
The Dangers of Brisbane’s Intense Storm Season
In Brisbane’s storm season, blocked drains, flooding, and dirty overflow often create problems. This is because water sweeps up rubbish, oil, and chemicals as it moves during heavy rain. They have become the biggest threat to commercial properties and our environment.
But once you understand how these pollutants build up and move around, you’ll see why stopping them early works better. Let’s go through the problems together below.
The Hidden Problem of Stormwater Pollution
Most property owners don’t know what’s flowing into their drains during storms. In reality, the problem starts long before the rain arrives. Throughout Brisbane’s dry months, debris slowly piles up on hard surfaces like car parks and roads.
Now, the pollution we just mentioned stays hidden until rain suddenly washes everything into our drainage system (out of sight, out of mind … until the rain hits). And the numbers are pretty shocking. Research shows stormwater commonly carries 55 types of chemical pollutants.
When you break down what’s in that toxic mix, you’d find that the material includes several main categories:
- Gross Pollutants: Plastic wrappers, cigarette butts, food containers, and leaf litter create the most visible mess. Unlike smaller particles, these large items immediately block drain grates and cause instant flooding problems in car parks and loading bays.
- Sediment and Grit: This type of pollutant includes soil particles, construction dust, and gravel from vehicle traffic. They build up when fine particles from tyre wear and brake pad dust mix with dirt. You get a cement-like sludge that’s much harder to clear than regular debris.
- Chemical Contaminants: Motor oil, coolant, and fuel drips from vehicles form an invisible but toxic layer of pollutants. During the first flush (we’ll explain it later), rainfall makes these petroleum products 10 times more concentrated compared to future storms.
How Debris Causes Flash Flooding on Local Roads
All the built-up waste still stays there when rain starts falling, you know. Heavy rain then picks up that waste and washes it directly into storm drains. The whole thing creates a domino effect that can flood your property in minutes.
Here’s how the congestion happens… Large items like plastic bottles and food packaging block drain openings first, and smaller debris builds up behind these blockages. The accumulated waste builds mini-dams that force water to flow over kerbs and into properties (you can’t stop it once it starts).
Unfortunately, you then end up with flash flooding that you could have prevented with proper cleaning before the arrival of the storm.
Pro-Tip: Sign up for weather alerts from The Brisbane Severe Weather Alert Service. When an alert comes through, do a quick clean around drains, pick up loose rubbish, and place sandbags where water usually builds up.
Partnering for Effective Waterway Protection
Honestly, you don’t have to manage stormwater alone. Rather, it should be more like a team effort between property owners, local councils, and professional cleaning services.
The thing is, Brisbane City Council takes care of public roads and drainage systems, and it’s good. Still, private property owners play a huge part in keeping rubbish out of our waterways. And when everyone does their bit, we all achieve better results.
We’ll now discuss how to keep our property clean and prepare for Brisbane’s storm seasons.
Practical Steps for Cleaner Property Runoff
Three things are important for cleaner runoff: an effective prevention plan, regular maintenance, and quick action. As a property owner, you’re the first line of defence against dirty runoff. That’s why you must do your job properly (it’s cheaper than flood damage, trust us).
Where do you begin, though? Start by ensuring that all your bins are secure so they won’t tip over when storms hit. Also, clean up any oil spills immediately instead of letting them sit on the ground. And, trim your trees frequently to prevent leaves from gathering up in gutters.
You probably don’t know this, but under Queensland’s Environmental Protection Act 1994, failing to manage your runoff can cause hefty fines. The maximum financial penalty is currently 6,250 penalty units, which amounts to several hundred thousand dollars.
And if it’s truly serious, you could even end up behind bars! Is that really a risk worth taking?
The Value of Regular Brisbane Street Cleaning
Professional cleaning services work with facility managers to make custom schedules that fit your needs and budget. Based on our experience, commercial properties get the best results from weekly or twice-weekly sweeping.
Not only that, but regular professional sweeping also prevents expensive pavement damage by keeping water flowing properly. This damage occurs when debris blocks your drainage paths and allows standing water to soften your pavement.
But once you combine good site management with professional equipment, you start to see the benefits instantly. And we’ll discuss those benefits in the next section.
Pro-Tip: Install sediment socks or drain guards at important drains. They’re cheap, low-effort barriers that trap rubbish and sediment before they ever hit the stormwater system.
The Benefits of Professional Sweeping Services
Let’s start with the benefits professional sweeping services offer. They help you save money, stop pollution, and protect your property long-term. Besides, specialised sweeping equipment can capture pollutants that rain would just wash into drains.
In other words, commercial properties see fewer drainage problems, cleaner runoff, and lower maintenance costs down the road when they invest in regular professional sweeping.
We’ll now go deeper into how professional sweeping can assist you with handling our storm season better.
Effective Ways to Prevent Stormwater Pollution
There are three methods to stop Brisbane’s stormwater pollution: mechanical sweeping, targeted waste removal, and using professional equipment.
The first method removes litter, leaves, and sediment from streets and gutters before they wash into stormwater drains. Meanwhile, the second one clears blockages or pollution hotspots such as drains, traps, and litter-prone areas.
And the third method involves using specialised machinery like vacuum trucks or water jetters to clean deep within the stormwater system.
Frankly, the difference between professional equipment and basic clean-up is like comparing a shop vacuum to a broom. Both remove waste, yes, but only one gets the job done.
Targeting First Flush Pollutants
As a Queenslander, it’s important to know what the “first flush” effect means. This is when initial stormwater runoff carries the highest amount of toxic pollutants (that “fresh rain smell” isn’t so fresh after all!).
Specialised equipment targets these most dangerous pollutants:
- Heavy Metals: Professional sweepers lift brake pad particles and engine wear debris from pavement instead of letting them wash into waterways. Unlike manual cleaning, specialised equipment captures fine metal particles that build up in sediment and poison fish for decades.
- Oil and Grease: Cleaners collect and remove oil, grease, and fuel spills so oily layers do not form on water. Even tiny amounts of petroleum products contaminate thousands of litres and kill young fish that need clean surfaces.
- Plant Matter: Sweeping clears rotting leaves and waste that releases nitrogen and phosphorus. It’s important to remove that waste because a single cubic metre of organic decay can trigger algae blooms and wipe out whole sections of creeks.
Protect Your Brisbane Property Before Storm Season Hits
Brisbane’s storm season can be tough because heavy rain and wind cause flooding, damage, and costly repairs. However, the most effective way to protect your property is with professional street cleaning before and during the wet months.
In this article, we’ve discussed how waste creates flooding disasters. You also learned about the shared responsibility between property owners and councils. Plus, now you know professional sweeping delivers better results than basic maintenance.
Don’t wait until the first major storm exposes the weak spots on your property. Contact Brisbane Sweeping today for a free, no-obligation site consultation. Create a maintenance schedule that protects your investment while helping preserve Brisbane’s waterways.
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