97
Surface water drainage
Are the drains blocked? depth to the bottom. Forcing a steel and a mirror down another can be
The best way of finding this out rod through deposits until you ‘hit helpful (Figure 3). If the pipe is
depends on the type of drain — bottom’ will not work, as the rod clear, the light can be seen clearly
open drains are much easier to may lodge itself on top of a rock or in the mirror; if the pipe is blocked
check than closed ones. brick, rather than at the true bottom with solids, or is not straight, then
of the channel. the light will be partly or completely
Open drains blocked. Success depends on
Closed drains having a powerful lamp, which you
If open drains are used only for
Finding blockages in closed drains must keep dry or the batteries will
runoff, they are dry in dry weather.
is more difficult, especially if they run down too quickly.
A quick walk along the drain can
also carry sewage. Here are two
give you a good idea of the extent
of the blockage. Frequently,
quick checks: How does the drainage
however, open drains carry sewage Standing-water checks in system behave in
as well as runoff. While a quick manholes practice?
look can find a complete blockage, When water is found standing in a
it cannot tell you much about the manhole above the bottom (‘invert’) To get the clearest idea, look at
solids below the surface. A survey, of the outgoing pipe, then how the system works in a storm.
using simple equipment to gauge something is holding up the flow
the amount of blockage, can be (see Figure 2 on page 99). Problem areas for flooding
helpful (see Figure 1 below).
Lamp-and-mirror checks Systematic observation is difficult
In any drain where there are Where manholes are spaced less unless problem areas have been
substantial solids, parts of the drain than 30m apart, lowering a identified before the storm. Define
must be cleaned out to find the true powerful lamp down one manhole, these using resident surveys before
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Surface water drainage
The drainage ‘network’ is more than
just the drain; it includes surface
and gutter flow, inlet flow, and
whatever is going on downstream,
too.
Figure 2: Standing water at manholes a sign of downstream blockage Sometimes, small changes in such
routes, for example, by raising a
dyke or removing some soil, can
improve the situation significantly.
But someone must step back and
look around to ensure that the
problem of five houses is not being
solved at the expense of 20 others!
the storm, and assign specific itself during storms. Such a survey Checking catchment and
team members to observe them can find: sub-catchment boundaries
during rain. This can often clarify Good maps make this job much
the cause of the flooding, such as ■ overflow locations; easier. Each team member should
inflows from other areas, or be allocated a ‘beat’, and should
■ bottlenecks and high head
blocked inlets. note on a map the direction of flow
losses, eg culverts; and
along the surface early in the
The hydraulic performance ■ obstructed entry to the drain, storm. This should be completed
of the total drainage system (inlet blockage, poor inlet within the first storm or two of the
The only way to observe hydraulic design, or poor surface season, to define the catchment as
performance is to study the drain grading). early as possible.
99
Surface water drainage
Improving Hydraulic
performance
Inlet performance,
blockages, high head
Outflows from drains Problems of grading,
slow drainage, high head
evaluations Surface
routes
Location, direction,
and magnitude of
Location, direction and
magnitude of surface
surface routes routes
Here are a few examples from
experience in the Madhya Pradesh Nuisance and Observe, discuss with Observe, discuss with
hazards residents residents
city of Indore:
Further reading
Cairncross, S. and Ouano, E.A.R., Surface Water Drainage for Low-Income Communities, WHO, Geneva, 1991.
Cairncross, S. and Ouano, E.A.R., ‘Surface water drainage in urban areas’, in The Poor Die Young, edited by
J.E. Hardoy, S. Cairncross, and D. Satterthwaite, Earthscan, London, 1990.
Cotton, A. P. and Tayler, K., Urban Upgrading: Options and procedures for Pakistan, WEDC, Loughborough, 1993.
Kolsky, P., Storm Drainage: An engineering guide to the low-cost evaluation of system performance, IT Publications,
London, 1998.
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