Contents

Preface The Siphonic Roof Drainage Association 3

1.0 The history of siphonic drainage 4

2.0 Siphonic drainage explained 5

2.1 “Self priming” 6

2.2 Primary & secondary systems 6

2.3 Gutter design 7

2.4 Underground drainage 7

2.5 Maintenance 8

3.0 How to specify siphonic drainage 8

4.0 Recommended design practice 10

4.1 Expansion below the Outlet 10

4.2 Sloping Tailpipes 11

4.3 Sloping Lateral Pipes 11

4.4 Configuration of the Downpipe 12

5.0 Materials for siphonic drainage pipework 13

6.0 Siphonic Glossary 14

7.0 Further Reading 16

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Preface – What is the Siphonic Roof Drainage Association?

The Siphonic Roof Drainage Association

(SRDA) was set up in 2004 to promote a This helps to ensure that standards
wider understanding of the principles of are maintained, and that there is a thorough
siphonic drainage, to promote good practice understanding of these important factors
among siphonic companies, and to provide a throughout the company structure.
recognised platform for specifiers to seek
advice. By using a member of the SRDA, a specifier
can ensure that they are going to a company
Members have to comply with the following which has the tools and experience to do the
requirements to gain membership: job properly.

• A suitable siphonic outlet. The Association can answer technical

questions about siphonic roof drainage
• A pipe and bracket system capable of specification, design, or problems with
accepting the pressure and dynamic existing systems.
loading from siphonic flow.
SRDA
• Design software capable of accurately Roofing House
assessing the very complex flow regime in 31 Worship Street
the system. London EC2A 2DY

• Not use misleading advertising, which Secretary: Jim Hooker BSc FIoR
makes false claims about benefits of a T: +44 (0)115 914 4500
particular product, or denigrates another. E: [email protected]
W: www.siphonic.org
All the requirements must have been M: +44 (0)7908 789454
assessed as suitable by a third party
organisation. For a list of full and trade members please
visit:
All members are subjected to an annual W: www.siphonic.org
random check by the Association to confirm E: [email protected]
that their design and installation procedures
are being properly implemented.

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1.0 The History of Siphonic Roof Drainage

The principle of Siphonic Roof Drainage was drainage systems, in the case of the siphonic
first developed by the Finnish engineer Olavi installation, the method of drainage was often
Ebeling in the late 1960’s. The first blamed, rather than the design guidance.
commercial installation was in a Swedish
Turbine Factory by a consulting engineer, Per The siphonic industry today is a progressive
Sommerhein, founder of the UV-System one, with 6 major companies, all committed to
company. Siphonic roof drainage then designing to the much improved
spread through Europe, and arrived in the UK
in the 1980’s, with Geberit and Sapolite (UV- Standard BSEN12056-3:2000. A dedicated
System) being the original companies. British Standard for siphonic drainage,
BS8490:2007 was published in March 2007,
During the 1990’s there were serious which formalises standards already met by
problems with some roof drainage designs. the members of the SRDA.
The ruling British Standard, BS6367:1983
had been written when construction methods A specifier and their client can be sure that if
and materials were very different, and the they use a member of the SRDA, they are
move from fibre cement to plastisol coated dealing with a company which has the design
steel roofing products, created much higher and installation experience to do the job
run off into gutters than the standard properly.
anticipated. BS6367 was ambiguous in its
design guidance with respect to suitable Furthermore, by specifying Siphonic drainage
rainfall intensities, and thus many gutters they can use a tried and tested method of
were seriously under designed. Although this drainage with over 30 years proven track
problem occurred in both gravity and siphonic record in installations across the globe.

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2.0 Siphonic Drainage explained

The basic theory behind siphonic roof water to be delivered to a specific point
drainage is very simple and all systems work on the site, at a shallow depth. This
in the same way. Water dropping down the can significantly reduce the storage
downpipe creates a negative pressure at the construction costs, especially for pond
highest point, in a similar way to the action of based designs.
a simple siphon, such as would be used to
drain a fish tank. This negative pressure is Water is collected from the gutter in small
harnessed to draw water along a horizontal diameter “tailpipes”, which fill with water (or
collector pipe, removing the need for many “prime”) very quickly, and then fill the rest of
downpipes in the building. This gives a the system. Once the whole system is
number of benefits compared to a traditional primed, full siphonic action occurs, and flow
system: rates achieve the design level.

• Internal underground drainage can be There are four vitally important concepts to
eliminated in the building, and ensure in design of a system, which mean
significant reductions can be made in that it is a task for a specialised company.
external underground drainage. This These are:
can provide considerable cost savings
and enhance the construction • The system must be carefully balanced,
programme on all sites, and particularly so that the friction losses in the
on contaminated ones. pipework ensure that the correct
amount of water passes through each
• Pipe sizes are reduced overall, outlet. This is normally achieved by
reducing the loads on the structure, making the tailpipes on the outlets
when compared with lateral gravity closest to the downpipe a smaller
drainage. diameter than those further away.
Another alternative is to space the
• There will be a significantly reduced outlets unevenly, so the outlets closest
number of downpipes for each gutter, to the gutter take more flow. Whichever
which can be located at the end of the system is used, it is very difficult to
gutter. This can free floor space and undertake these calculations without a
allow columns to be omitted. specialised computer program. All
SRDA members utilise sophisticated
• The collector pipe, which runs (and independently proven) analytical
horizontally, can be very close to the software to properly balance the
roof or gutter, allowing full use of designed systems, eliminating any risk
internal space. of air being drawn into the system
therefore retaining the full integrity and
• For sites with a requirement for a effectiveness of the system at all times.
sustainable urban drainage solution
(SUDS), siphonic drainage will allow
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 • The system must be designed so that 2.1 “Self-Priming”
the peak negative pressure in the
system is within the negative pressure All siphonic systems operate in exactly the
capability of the pipe system, and same way, and so titles such as “self-priming”
above the threshold where cavitation apply to all systems. Comparison tests
(air coming out of suspension in carried out at HR Wallingford in 1996
bubbles) occurs. To ensure this, the (SR463) showed that pipework design was
maximum negative pressure in the the key factor in performance, and the outlets
system should be 8.8m (863mbar), or tested all behave in the way predicted by the
less negative if pipework type dictates theory. If small diameter outlets are fitted to a
it. To accurately assess the pressure, large carrier system, the siphonic pipework
software must evaluate friction, bend will tend to prime slowly, and so water depth
and junction losses. in the gutter may rise above the final steady
running level. A system which has been
• The system must fill quickly enough (or better matched at design stage will not
“prime”) to operate in a 2 minute storm. overshoot, provided it uses any functional
All siphonic systems must be able to fill siphonic roof drainage outlet.
the collector pipe using only the flow
from the primed tailpipes. This flow will
be much smaller than the fully primed 2.2 Primary and secondary systems
capacity of the system. If this does not
happen within approximately 50-60 The introduction of BS EN12056-3:2000, and
seconds, the gutter may be overcome the steady increase in building size, has led
before the system operates. The only to a situation where greater and greater
exclusion to this would be gutters or flat volumes of water are being drained from
roofs where storage is acceptable, and roofs. This means that for a single siphonic
thus the system does not have to roof drainage system to drain a gutter, the
function as quickly. collector pipes can be very large. This has a
number of disadvantages:
• The system must have sufficient drop
between gutter and collector pipe to • The time for the system to fill can
allow enough flow to be generated to fill become longer.
the downpipe. VDI 3806, (the German
siphonic standard) contains a specific • The larger pipes impose significant
design clause which relates the tail static and dynamic loads to the building
drop to the maximum downpipe structure.
diameter. If the collector pipe is too
close to the gutter sole, there will be For these reasons some UK companies
very little energy gain during the early favour a primary & secondary approach to
part of filling process, and it is possible design.
that the system will not function.
The primary system will cater for the 1-2 year
event, and the secondary system will drain
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any surplus water in longer term events. In on outlet water depth information from a third
most cases there is not enough capacity in party source (BBA or independent testing).
underground drainage to cope with above
ground requirements, and so this secondary It should be noted that problems caused by a
drainage can be discharged harmlessly onto lack of gutter depth do not only apply to
external surfacing. siphonic drainage. Many gravity gutters are
very hard to design because of lack of
However, the primary & secondary approach available depth.
has its drawbacks, the main one being that
the gutter needs an adequate depth for it still
to function as a gutter with water running into 2.4 Underground drainage
the secondary system. With gutter sizes
gradually getting smaller due to increased In UK design practice underground drainage
insulation thickness, this can often be hard to is typically designed to carry approximately
achieve, and so a primary only system can half the flow of the roof drainage. This is for
often be the best solution. Gutter depths will two reasons:
be covered in more detail in the next section.
• Roof drainage is designed to protect
the building for its lifetime (usually 90
2.3 Gutter design years plus) whereas below ground
drainage can flood in events over 30
Although siphonic roof drainage systems years.
work in a fundamentally different way to a
gravity system, the gutters which they drain • Water concentrates very quickly on a
work in exactly the same way. When a roof, and so roof drainage design is
siphonic system is designed, calculations based on a 2 minute storm as opposed
should be carried out using either the free or to the 3-5 minute storm used for
restricted flow analysis procedures in BS underground drainage. It is a general
EN12056-3:2000, using water depth rule that the longer the event, the lower
information from outlet testing. the intensity of rainfall.

Various industry factors, such as the Most siphonic systems use the full building
introduction of Part L of the Building height to generate their flow, and thus it is
Regulations, have led to insulation vitally important that when the system
thicknesses increasing, and consequently discharges it has no restriction. It is therefore
gutters getting smaller. This can make it very recommended that a vented manhole lid be
difficult to make a primary/secondary siphonic fitted at the discharge point to allow air drawn
system work properly. Be very cautious of in during the priming process to be released,
companies who claim that water depth in and any surplus water to overflow without any
gutters is not important with a particular outlet risk to building. SRDA members can provide
or gutter type. For all siphonic systems, standard details for this on request.
gutter calculations should be undertaken to
show that there is adequate capacity, based

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2.5 Maintenance Siphonic outlets are more complex than
conventional ones, and so it should be
Many specifiers are concerned that siphonic explained to gutter maintenance staff that
roof drainage systems need much higher outlets must be re-assembled with all their
levels of maintenance, but the fact is that all original parts if they have to be removed for
roof drainage systems need adequate maintenance.
maintenance, gravity or siphonic. All gutters
should be inspected at least bi-annually, and Debris should never be swept into any roof
cleaned when appropriate. Inspections and drainage system, but this is particularly
cleaning may need to be carried out more important for siphonic drainage, where
regularly where there is a high density of tailpipes may be reasonably small diameter.
trees or other sources of airborne debris.

3.0 How to specify siphonic drainage

When specifying siphonic drainage there are be applied to building life. 4.5 is
a number of key factors which must be normally used for building where the
covered. These are: consequences of flooding would be
more significant, though these are
• Rainfall intensity - The rainfall levels never explicitly defined.
should be determined from BS EN
12056-3:2000, using the projected • Many large developers consider that for
building life, and a suitable factor of distribution
safety.
• buildings, the 25 year standard building
• It is specifically stated in BS 8490:2007, life is too short to adequately protect
that there should be no differentiation the building's contents, and so a factor
between siphonic and conventional of 4.5 is often used (Category 3) giving
drainage when calculating rainfall an overall protection life of 112.5 years.
intensities for design.
• Office buildings often have a longer
• The contents of the building should be building life such as 60 years, and so
considered as well as building type. the factor of safety of 1.5 (Category 2)
The more years specified the lower the gives a much greater level of
risk to the building, but the more protection.
expensive the system, so it is always a
balance to suit the acceptable level of • Specification of rainfall intensity is the
risk. responsibility of the architect, and the
SRDA can give no absolute guidance,
• The minimum drainage requirements but it should be noted that if the overall
set out in BS EN12056-3:2000, protection life including safety factor is
stipulate a 1.5 or 4.5 factor of safety to 30 years or less there is a serious risk
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 that water will flow into the building
during its lifespan. • Metal pipe systems (cast-iron,
galvanized or stainless steel) can also
• Most importantly “75mm/hr” should be used for siphonic drainage. The
never be specified for internal gutters specification should detail that
as it will lead to over flow into the installation should be according to their
building every 1-2 years, depending on manufacturers recommendations for
location. negative pressure.

• Filling time and gutter calculations - It is BS8490 sets out the following information
vitally important that the siphonic to be provided by specifiers to siphonic
contractor provides calculations to contractors:
show that the system will fill within the
required time period, and that the gutter • Location of building and height above
will function correctly i.e. will not over- ordinance datum,
top. In the UK the design rainfall event • Required design storm return period, or
(the most intense period of a storm) is 2 category of storm and design life of
minutes, and so a siphonic system building.
must begin to function within half this • Roof plan indicating area to be drained.
time unless roof storage is provided, or • Roof covering and height of potential
the roof may flood. In the past some leakage paths into the building.
companies have claimed that their • Gutter positions and initial sizes.
systems do not need to fill to operate, • Preferred outlet locations
but this is simply not correct. Gutter • Overflow positions
calculations should be to BSEN12056- • Preferred downpipe routes
3:2000, using outlet data from a BBA
• Temperature and humidity of rooms
certificate or other third party source.
intended to be heated
• Decibel rating of noise sensitive areas
• The majority of siphonic drainage
• Building use
systems in Britain use high density
• Position of soft landscaping
polyethylene pipework. HDPE can be
• Levels of roof and external ground
connected using either electro-fusion
• Structural arrangements of roof,
couplings, which are heated by internal
including beam heights
elements, or by butt-jointing, where the
• Location of movement joints
cut ends of the pipe
• Maximum depth of water on roof
• are melted and then forced together • Details of connection to site drainage
under pressure to make a joint. Butt- system
joints should only be made using a • CDM risk assessment for installation of
machine incorporating a jig and control outlets
system to monitor the temperature, time • Any other relevant information
and pressure required, as is required by
BS8490:2007.
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4.0 Recommended Design Practice

However complex the calculation program used by a siphonic company, the functionality of the
system relies in the first instance on the pipes becoming full of water. In some cases this may not
occur because of badly detailed pipework. The following are examples of recommended details
which should be used to prevent problems in pipework design.

4.1 Expansion below the outlet

Good – Tail filled in vertical Bad – Tail may fail to fill

If the tailpipe below the outlet is too large, the outlet will not be able to fill it, leading to the situation
where the outlet will be working at a tiny fraction of its design flow (All UK siphonic outlets will only
drain 3-5 l/s when not connected to a primed pipe system). Expansion of one pipe size in the
vertical is usually acceptable (i.e. 75 up to 90), but at figures beyond that the tail should be deemed
not to be functional, unless it has been proved otherwise by third party physical testing. It should
be noted that it is perfectly acceptable to increase the size of the horizontal component of the
tailpipe. It is acceptable to have these non-functional tailpipes as perhaps one or two at the end of
a large system, but they should be excluded from any fill time calculations.

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4.2 Sloping tailpipes

Good – Tail filled in vertical Bad – Tail may fail to fill

If tailpipes slope, there is a significant risk that water will accelerate down the slope in gravity flow
such that the pipe will not run full and it will be left running in gravity. This will lead to the same
effect as above, that the outlets will stay in gravity mode, reducing their effectiveness, and probably
stopping the system priming and thus reaching full effectiveness.

4.3 Sloping lateral pipes (Greater than 1:100)

Good – Siphonic action Bad – System may stay in gravity

Promoted by smaller downpipe

For the same reasons that it is best to avoid sloping tailpipes, the lateral pipe in a siphonic system
should be installed horizontally. If the laterals are installed with a slope then care should be
exercised to detail the pipework downstream such that the system will prime. The best way is
usually to reduce the diameter of the vertical pipe downstream of the sloping section, to force it to
prime the sloping section.

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4.4 Configuration of the downpipe

Expansions in diameter of the downpipe should be avoided wherever possible, as there is a risk
that the siphon will break at this stage. This will mean that if the system has been designed to be
full to ground level, there will be much less capacity as the system will only have a proportion of the
available drop. The other assumption that can be made is that the pipe will not fill lower down, and
that the system becomes gravity at the expansion point. Unfortunately, the process is not reliable,
and the pipe will sometimes fill and sometimes not, and so neither assumption can be made with
confidence. There are two approaches that can therefore be pursued:

• Make the expansion in an offset which will

ensure that the pipe primes all the way
down

• Expand the pipe such that the filling degree

in the lower section is only 20% which will
inhibit the ability to prime

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5.0 Materials for siphonic roof drainage systems

Many different materials can be used for siphonic roof drainage installations, the key thing being
that they can resist the dynamic and pressure loadings the pipework will be subject to. Most pipe
manufacturers do not provide negative pressure test data, and so manufacturers must carry out
tests on pipe to ensure it is strong enough.

The following pipe types have successfully been used in installations in UK or in other parts of the
world:

High Density Polyethylene HDPE is the most commonly used pipe type in the United
(HDPE) Kingdom industry.
Unplasticised PolyVinyl uPVC for use in siphonic systems must be solvent welded
Chloride (uPVC) pressure pipe, and suitable for negative pressure applications.
Cast Iron Plain ended cast Iron to BS EN877, is often used in areas of
buildings where a decorative feature is required, or to provide
fire protection measures.
Galvanised Steel Galvanised steel to EN 1123 with push fit joints is lighter than
cast iron, less expensive than stainless steel, and has been
used extensively on the continent.
Stainless Steel Stainless steel with clamped push-fit seals is sometimes used in
areas where a decorative feature is required.
Copper & other materials In a similar way copper and other materials can be used, but
must be checked for negative pressure resistance

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6.0 Siphonic Glossary

Baffle plate A flat or shaped device (sometimes part of leaf guard) which
prevents air entering the siphonic system.
Butt joint A joint in HDPE pipework generated by heating pipe ends and
forcing together under pressure.
Cavitation Air bubbles coming out of suspension in water, causing damage
to pipe material. Occurs when velocity very high and pressure
very low, and will not occur if pipe system designed correctly.
Downpipe Single pipe which drops down from lateral to ground level.
Water flowing down this downpipe creates the negative
pressure which drives a siphonic system.
Fill time The time taken for the tail pipes (when running full bore, but by
themselves) to fill the system and start overall prime.
Friction loss The energy loss associated with the process of water running
along the inside wall of the pipe.
Full bore A pipe running full of water or “primed”
HDPE High Density Polyethylene – a light, robust, impact resistant
plastic pipe system used in the majority of UK siphonic
installations.
Implosion Pipe failure due to insufficient strength in material to withstand
internal vacuum. Will not occur if pipe correctly specified and
design undertaken correctly.
Minor loss The energy loss associated with water passing through a
junction, bend, or fitting.
Negative pressure A vacuum created in pipe system by full bore flow down
downpipe.
Priming The process of the pipe filling with water. Once full of water it
will be primed, and siphonic action will occur.
Secondary system An additional pipe system, with outlets located at a small
distance above the roof level or gutter sole which will drain
larger storms, often onto hard surfacing outside the building.
Self-cleansing Flow in pipe systems needed to shift sediment. Flow velocities
in priming siphonic systems are very high so self-cleansing
could be expected at figures as low as 10% of full design flow.

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Self-Priming A description of how all siphonic systems operate.
Siphonic Outlet An outlet which has been specially designed to encourage full
bore flow in a tail pipe at a shallow water depth.
Rail system A metal rail connected to HDPE pipe using circular brackets,
and fastened to structure at typically 2m centres. This rail is
designed to restrain thermal movement of pipe.
Rainfall Intensity The design level of rainfall in a 2 minute storm which the system
will have to drain from roof.
Tail pipe Small diameter pipes connecting the roof drainage outlets into
the horizontal collector pipe.
Vented manhole A manhole close to building with a vented cover to allow air to
be vented during priming process, and water to escape in the
event of lack of capacity in underground drainage.
Water depth The depth of water at the outlet when it is primed. This will vary
with flow rate and for some outlets with gutter width.
Self-cleansing Flow in pipe systems needed to shift sediment. Flow velocities
in priming siphonic systems are very high so self-cleansing
could be expected at figures as low as 10% of full design flow.
Self-Priming A description of how all siphonic systems operate.
Siphonic Outlet An outlet which has been specially designed to encourage full
bore flow in a tail pipe at a shallow water depth.
Rail system A metal rail connected to HDPE pipe using circular brackets,
and fastened to structure at typically 2m centres. This rail is
designed to restrain thermal movement of pipe.
Rainfall Intensity The design level of rainfall in a 2 minute storm which the system
will have to drain from roof.

Tail pipe Small diameter pipes connecting the roof drainage outlets into
the horizontal collector pipe.
Vented manhole A manhole close to building with a vented cover to allow air to
be vented during priming process, and water to escape in the
event of lack of capacity in underground drainage.
Water depth The depth of water at the outlet when it is primed. This will vary
with flow rate and for some outlets with gutter width.

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7.0 Further Reading

BS8490:2007 Guide to siphonic roof drainage systems

British Standards Institution – September 2000

BSEN12056-3:2000 Gravity Drainage Systems Inside buildings – layout and
calculation.

British Standards Institution – September 2000

RP 463 Performance of Siphonic Drainage Systems for Roof Gutters

HR Wallingford Report Sept 1996,

Wearing et al., 2005 Flow into modular plastic box structures from siphonic and other
high flow drainage systems –

Proceedings of 3rd National Conference on Sustainable

Drainage, Coventry, - June 2005.

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