Storm drains are crucial in preventing flooding from both rainstorms and snowmelt runoff at all types of properties, particularly large commercial properties that are intended for public use. If you work for a municipality or as a property manager, you may begin to see a few warning signs that the storm drains are starting to fail. It is incredibly important that you have all of the storm drains at the property maintained immediately. Otherwise you are taking the unnecessary risk of causing a tremendous flood.

There happens to be a large variety of issues that cause storm drains to fail. These include everything from small issues such as water that trickles slowly into drain gutters, to larger and more impactful issues such as massive sinkholes that form in areas after flooding. Of course, sinkholes can cause a tremendous amount of damage to parking lots, roadways, and utilities. On a smaller scale, standing water is a tell tale indicator that storm drains located within the area are not working correctly. The following information will provide you with the most common reasons as to why storm drains fail and what you can about it.

The Main Causes Of Storm Drain Failure

Clogged catch basins, and materials that fill up the storm drainpipe are the main causes of storm drain failure. That being said, it is common for catch basins to become filled with dirt, leaves, sticks, and other types of debris. There are also a plethora of items that happen to fall into the drain that can block or fill the pipe. It is certainly not difficult for items, such as trash, to block the grates that cover the storm drain openings.

Storm drains are engineered to carry a definitive amount of water. When the drains become blocked the amount of water that the pipes are capable of carrying can exceed over thirty percent more of that water volume that is was designed to carry. Do you know what that means? In essence, standing water will clog up the entire area. This becomes a relatively common problem due to the fact that an abundance of storm drain basins are not maintained and cleaned on a regular basis. In fact, far too many municipalities and property managers go years without having the storm drain basins maintained.

The good news is that this can be easily remedied by hiring an expert to inspect the storm drains, and maintain them on a regular basis moving forward. There are actually a few types of materials that are used for storm drainpipes. Corrugated steel pipes typically erode over time because the chemicals that flow inside of the pipes eat away at the metal. That means older storm drains constructed with corrugated steel should be inspected by a professional on a regular basis to ensure that the system is functioning properly.

Although concrete pipes do not have the same erosion issues, they do tend to crack and leak. Concrete is a heavy material, and the joints must be sealed with either concrete or a rubber gasket that tends to wear away over time. In essence, concrete pipes typically require more ongoing maintenance in order to reseal the pipe joints.

If you have any questions about catch basin maintenance, or would like to schedule service we are happy to help. Jolin Paving & Excavating, Inc. is your New England connection for a vast variety of environmentally related services. Our company has been serving Boston Massachusetts, Southern NH, VT & ME as well as Northern CT & RI since 1952. Please Contact us to learn more today.

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