🌧️ Heavy Rainfall Is No Longer “Unexpected” — It’s an Estates Strategy Issue
By Peter Davies
Founder & CEO | Premises Management Group Surrey
Facilities & Premises Management Professional
Over the past few years, one thing has become clear across schools and facilities: heavy rainfall is no longer a rare disruption — it’s a predictable operational risk.
Yet many buildings are still managed reactively when it comes to flooding.
Buckets appear after leaks start.
Emergency callouts happen after drains overflow.
And estates teams are left managing the consequences rather than preventing the problem.
From my experience working across education sites and multi-use facilities, the conversation needs to shift.
Flood prevention isn’t just a maintenance task.
It’s a leadership and strategy issue for estates and facilities professionals.
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🏫 Estates Teams Are the First Line of Defence
When heavy rain hits, the difference between disruption and continuity often comes down to how prepared the premises team is.
Most flooding I’ve seen doesn’t come from dramatic failures — it comes from small, overlooked issues:
• Gutters not inspected seasonally
• External drains blocked by debris
• Ground levels slowly rising against door thresholds
• Plant rooms located in vulnerable areas without added protection
None of these problems appear overnight.
They build quietly — and that’s where proactive estates management makes the difference.
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🔧 Prevention Is Operational Excellence, Not Extra Work
One of the biggest mindset shifts I encourage is this:
Flood prevention is not an additional task — it’s part of strong operational practice.
Simple actions like including drainage checks in PPM schedules, reviewing known leak areas annually, or training site teams to spot early warning signs can drastically reduce risk.
The reality is, when estates teams get it right, nobody notices — because the building simply keeps running.
And that’s exactly how it should be.
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⚡ Why Flooding Is a Bigger Risk Than Many Realise
Flooding isn’t just about water on the floor.
It impacts:
✔ Electrical safety
✔ Safeguarding routes and access
✔ Equipment and asset lifespan
✔ Learning environments and business continuity
✔ Compliance and insurance obligations
A small ingress issue today can easily become a major operational incident tomorrow.
That’s why facilities professionals must be part of strategic planning conversations — not just called in when something fails.
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👷 The Role of Facilities Leadership in 2026 and Beyond
As estates professionals, we’re often asked to “do more with less” — especially with ageing buildings and increasing pressure on space.
But the solution isn’t working harder reactively.
It’s designing smarter systems:
• Clear flood response plans
• Defined out-of-hours responsibilities
• Training that empowers frontline premises teams
• Better communication between estates, leadership teams, and contractors
When FM is positioned strategically, resilience becomes part of everyday operations — not a crisis response.
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💬 My Perspective
Across the sites I support through Premises Management Group Surrey, I’ve seen how small, consistent improvements make a huge difference.
Flood prevention doesn’t require massive budgets.
It requires awareness, planning, and strong estates culture.
Because ultimately, our role isn’t just maintaining buildings.
It’s protecting the environments where people learn, work, and grow — whatever the weather brings.
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What’s one practical flood-prevention measure your estates team has implemented that made a real difference?
I’d love to hear how others across the FM community are adapting their buildings for increasingly unpredictable conditions.
#FacilityManagement #EstatesManagement #PremisesManagement #FMLeadership #SchoolsEstates #BuildingResilience #FMProfessionals #PMGS
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