Everton new stadium 'flooding' fears eased after footage goes viral
Scenes of heavy rain pouring into a concourse at Everton’s new stadium are down to the specialist drainage system having not yet been activated. Dramatic footage appearing to show rainwater flooding down the steps of the stands and into the ground circulated online as Liverpool was battered ahead of the arrival of Storm Darragh.
But while the images may look worrying, the club reassured there were no concerns about the ability of the stunning new venue to deal with severe weather conditions.
Everton Stadium will operate with siphonic drainage, a system that allows water to be sucked from gutters at high speed when it reaches a certain level. That water will then be collected to use in other parts of the ground operation, such as for irrigation.
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With the stadium still under construction, that drainage system has not yet been fully installed - hence the scenes that were recorded on Thursday night.
That system is expected to be completed in the coming weeks as the construction phase of the stadium is finalised.
The water that did enter the concourse is understood to have not caused any lasting damage as the ground has not undergone its internal fit - which will begin after the construction has been completed.
While claims of there being issues with the roof also circulated with the footage, the roof is perforated by design as part of efforts to mitigate against the high winds around the waterfront ground.