Do you own property in the town of Westborough, MA? If so you need to be aware of a recent mandate that requires both residential and commercial property owners to have all catch basis/storm drains cleaned and cleared each year. In addition, proof must be sent to the town. You may be wondering why it is so important to maintain your catch basins/storm drains on a regular basis. Although it may not seem like a crucial part of the property maintenance cycle, when catch basins/storm drains become blocked it can lead to serious problems for property owners, municipalities, and the environment. That is the reason why the town of Westborough, MA is being so proactive about this topic. The following information will explain the purpose of catch basins/storm drains, and what can happen if they are not functioning properly
The Purpose Of Catch Basins/Storm Drain Inlets
Catch basins, also know as storm drains, are one of the main components in your property’s overall drainage system. Their purpose is to remove large quantities of water, caused by rainstorms and snowmelt, away from your property in order to avoid flooding. In essence, catch basins/storm drains are boxes that are placed in the ground in areas where standing water accumulates. The top of the box features a grate that allows water and solids to flow directly into the underground box.
The solid particles settle to the bottom of the box, and the water collects until it reaches the outlet trap. The outlet trap is connected to a series of underground pipes that allow the water to flow away from the property to either a retention pond located near the property, a local stream, or a sewage treatment plant. If the solid particles accumulate to over thirty-percent of the catch basin’s contents, they may start to block the outlet trap.
Disaster Can Strike When The Outlet Trap Is Blocked
When the outlet trap is blocked, it prevents the water from flowing into the drainage pipes. This is the point when a disaster can occur. Since the water can no longer flow forward, it will start to flow backwards instead. Before long the water will completely flood your yard or grounds. From there the water may very well flood into your home, place of business, or investment property.
These types of water floods cause a significant amount of damage to the structure itself and items contained within it. In addition, mold and mildew can easily form. This causes a health hazard for anyone that resides in or works at the property. The overflow can also cause a great deal of damage to the environment. Typically speaking, the property owner is responsible from both a legal and financial standpoint. Unfortunately, cleanup can cost upwards of tens of thousands of dollars, or even more in certain cases.
The good news is that damaging floods can be avoided when you hire an experienced professional to clean your catch basins/storm drains on a yearly basis. The solid particles will not have enough time to accumulate to the point where it starts to block the outlet trap. Regular cleaning the sediment out of the catch basin may very well be the most important aspect of proper drainage system maintenance.
In conclusion, Vactone Environmental Services is working closely with the Town of Westborough Conservation to ensure correct collection of property data with the regards to number of units on property and provide our vactor vacuum and cleaning of catch basin and drain services, as well as all legal disposal, to conform and meet Town of Westborough Conservation specifications.
We hope that more cities and towns will soon follow the Town of Westborough Conservation in their environmental efforts with regards to removal of pollutants before it can reach local, county, state waterways and wetlands. We look forward to working with new cities, towns and property owners, as they become more away of the serious environmental consequences from the not having catch basins and drains frequently cleaned and having this overflow of pollutants reaching their own local waterways and wetlands.
The Town of Westborough Conservation has worked tirelessly over several years to collect data and mapping to implement mandatory drain cleaning throughout the town in an effort to help protect local waterways and wetlands and the wildlife that frequent both.
As more local cities and towns begin to adopt similar catch basin/storm drain cleaning initiatives, Vactone will be there to help.
Our team of highly trained professionals each has years of experience providing property owners with our vactor vacuum catch basin/storm drain cleaning services. Contact us today to learn more about these and other important regulations.
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