Looking upstream of the pothole
The government’s recent publication, “How well is your council fixing your roads?”, has triggered wide discussion across the highways sector. With only 16 local highway authorities rated green, the data underlines the scale of the challenge facing the road network, regardless of geography, funding model or political control.
Much of the public debate that follows inevitably focuses on visible outcomes: potholes, surface defects and carriageway condition. These are the issues communities experience day to day, and they matter.
But if the sector wants to move beyond reactive repair and short-term fixes, there is value in looking further upstream. Not just at how defects are repaired, but at what accelerates deterioration in the first place, and how some of those drivers can be addressed earlier.
Beyond rainfall: the role of standing water
Rainfall itself is unavoidable. What matters is how effectively surface water is removed once it reaches the carriageway.
Where water is allowed to sit on the road surface due to blocked gullies, ineffective drainage, localised low spots or disconnected assets, it increases the stress placed on the carriageway structure. Water penetrates existing cracks, weakens bound layers, and in colder conditions expands through freeze thaw action. Over time, this accelerates deterioration and raises the likelihood of defects forming.
This is not a new concept. Drainage has always been a fundamental part of highway design. Yet in practice, the relationship between surface water, drainage performance and road condition is often managed in silos.
A reactive cycle that is hard to escape
The road condition data highlights a familiar pattern. Limited budgets, ageing assets and increasing demand force authorities to prioritise visible, safety-critical repairs. Potholes are filled, surfaces patched and defects made safe.
What is harder to resource consistently is the preventative work that reduces how often those defects form in the first place. Drainage assets may be inspected and maintained separately from carriageway condition, even when surface water is clearly contributing to deterioration.
The result can be a reactive cycle. Defects are repaired, but the conditions that allow water to sit on the carriageway remain unchanged. Over time, this places continued pressure on both maintenance budgets and network resilience.
Drainage as asset protection, not a parallel service
Reframing drainage as part of protecting road investment rather than as a separate operational task opens up a different conversation.
Understanding where surface water regularly accumulates, how drainage assets are performing, and how water moves across the network provides valuable context for carriageway maintenance decisions. Clearing a gully, resolving a restriction, or addressing a known drainage issue may prevent repeated deterioration of the same section of road.
Seen through this lens, drainage maintenance supports long-term road condition. It reduces avoidable stress on the carriageway and helps protect the value of investment already made in the network.
Exploring the connection
If the sector wants to move away from repeatedly putting a plaster over the outcome, looking at what happens after the rain falls feels like a necessary part of the conversation.
If you’re interested in exploring how drainage performance, standing water and carriageway condition interact on the network, we’re always open to collaborative conversations about how better use of drainage data can help reduce reactive cycles and protect long-term road investment - Contact us today.