Drainage and stability: The risk beneath your feet

By Darren Lewis | 28-1-26

One of the easiest things to overlook on a solar site is the ground itself. It’s literally under your feet every day, quietly doing its job, until one day it isn’t. With the amount of rain many parts of the UK have seen over the last few weeks, that reality has become much harder to ignore.

Water is patient. It doesn’t announce itself as a fault or trigger an alarm. It seeps, pools, and redirects slowly, often out of sight. Periods of sustained rainfall, like we’ve experienced recently, amplify that behaviour and expose weaknesses that may have been building for some time.

When drainage is inadequate, soil retains moisture longer than it should. The ground softens, weight increases, and subtle movement begins. Those shifts might be barely noticeable at first, but they directly affect the structures above. Mounting systems start to load unevenly. Posts and frames take strain in ways they weren’t designed for. Torque increases, fixings loosen, and alignment drifts.

Extended wet conditions accelerate this process. What might have taken months to develop in a drier period can happen far more quickly when the ground remains saturated. By the time the issue shows up as a visible problem, the cost of remediation is often significantly higher than it would have been with earlier intervention.

Drainage isn’t a housekeeping task or an afterthought. It is a core part of structural protection.

Good drainage allows water to move away from critical areas in a controlled, predictable way. It keeps soil behaviour consistent and reduces the risk of settlement or erosion around foundations. It also makes changes easier to spot. After heavy rainfall, well managed sites make it clear where something isn’t behaving as expected.

From an operational perspective, stable ground supports safer access, more reliable inspections, and fewer unplanned issues. Engineers can move confidently around the site, structures remain aligned, and maintenance work can be carried out without fighting the terrain. Over time, that stability translates directly into lower costs and more predictable performance.

At SGU, we pay close attention to drainage because it gives early insight into the future health of a site. Pooling water, changes in vegetation, or ground softness after prolonged rain are signals that allow action while solutions are still straightforward. Ignoring them doesn’t make the problem go away. It simply delays it until the consequences are more severe.

As assets age and weather patterns continue to test sites more frequently, drainage and stability become even more important. Protecting performance means understanding how the land behaves, especially during periods like this, not just how the equipment performs on top of it.

The most expensive failures often start quietly. Looking after what’s underfoot is one of the most effective ways to prevent them.

Because we care.

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