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How to drain the site

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The article is devoted to the organization of drainage of a suburban area. We offer you to understand the types of drainage and the criteria for choosing a particular system. Consider the nuances of drainage design, let’s talk about their main elements. We did not disregard both the installation technique and the peculiarities of the care of the drainage system..

Purpose and principle of drainage

The volume of private construction is growing from year to year. For a number of reasons, future homeowners do not always have the opportunity to choose an ideal hydrogeological site, and in some regions, almost all soils consist of “dysfunctional” clay and loam – an example is the Moscow region. There is never a single misfortune, weather troubles are added to the “earthly” issues, high ground waters: large snows and their sharp spring melting, heavy autumn rains. Note that the water balance of the site can be disturbed by our own hands – during large-scale construction. This is a high-rise redevelopment of the site; rainwater drainage from the roof of a large area; waterproof yard cover; pools and ponds; artificial hills and alpine slides; massive fences on high and deep foundations that stop water.

How to drain the site

So, the problem of “excess water”: the soil becomes waterlogged – as a result, we have poor health of many plants, winter freezing of water and swelling of the soil with various deformations of the blind area, paths and shallow foundations, the formation of icing, flooding of basements, destruction of the foundation of the main building, the appearance of mold and fungus indoors, the expansion of mosquitoes and frogs. The most important thing is that you should not count on the short-term nature of some negative factors, such difficulties are systematic and tend to worsen over time..

The only way out in this situation is to make drainage for the site. Drainage is a hydraulic structure of a system of artificial soil paths to drain sedimentary, ground and deep waters outside the site. The idea is that a network of surface (ditches) or deep (underground perforated pipes) channels located at an angle is arranged along the site. Water seeps into them through holes or joints and flows by gravity into a nearby reservoir or ditch (open drain) connected to a ravine, or a pit covered with rubble, where it is gradually absorbed into the ground. If direct drainage is impossible (large depth of the drainage pipes, neighboring buildings, low location of the site …), then the moisture is collected in a drainage sump, from which it is pumped out by pumps.

How to drain the site

The storm water drain is usually not connected to the drainage system, rainwater is supplied in separate lines with an identical slope parallel to the main drain. This is not an axiom, with the correct calculation, the intake of roofing water by drainage is quite possible.

I must say that drainage of the site does not exclude, but only complements the protection of buildings. Waterproofing and proper ventilation of foundations is necessary in any case, and in difficult hydrological conditions, the construction of foundation drainage is recommended. We will talk about the protection of buildings in the next article..

Drainage types

Before starting work on drainage, you will have to correctly choose the type of the most suitable drainage system for your site..

Surface, open drainage

The main competitor of deep pipe drainage. This system is suitable for soils that are slowly permeable to water, including clay and loamy soils. Conventionally (!) A simple and inexpensive way of drainage, which consists in arranging a network of ditches of various widths (40-50 cm), depths (50-70 cm) and sectional shapes (V-shaped or trapezoidal bevel of the walls 25-35 degrees). The system usually consists of a central drain (this is the “exit channel”), side and field ditches. These channels have a tree-like arrangement – preferably at right angles to each other, “from branches to trunk”. Accordingly, the central drain is larger and deeper than the lateral ones, and the lateral ones are field ones. Channels 30–40 cm long can be covered with filter material (crushed stone, broken brick, river pebbles). To collect sand and debris, special trapping tanks are installed at the bottom of the ditches. From above, surface drains can be covered with gratings and masked with sod.

How to drain the site

By the type of placement, the ditches can be parallel (chosen when the site has numerous stagnant zones) and random (if there are local, but large low spots on the site). Protecting large areas of a site is called linear drainage. As an option, point drains are used for local water removal, for example, to drain a roof storm gutter from the outlet pipe.

The most justified use of surface drainage will be in areas with a large natural slope, when it is permissible for the water to be removed within one or two days. The obvious disadvantages of this drainage method include the somewhat unpresentable appearance of the open ditch system, serious design restrictions, the need to carry out a fairly serious amount of earthwork, the need to correctly place a large amount of raised land (it is filled with critical low spots, laid with shafts in places calculated for drainage ). Mandatory earthworks, in fact, make such drainage relatively inexpensive – you should do hydrological surveys and topographic surveys, carefully level the site in order to avoid reverse slopes, remove and control vegetation, perform multiple smoothing of the surface with a leveling plow.

How to drain the site

Some difficulties are caused by the care of surface drainage. After heavy rainfall, sludge and other blockages can form in the system, which must be monitored and removed immediately. The overgrowth of ditches with vegetation causes serious problems, some species should be removed from the site altogether, for example, willow, poplar, cattail. The drains covered with filtering elements are over time drawn by the washed off soil and serve for about 4–8 years, then they require overhaul. Operational restoration of slopes is periodically required (again leveling and smoothing).

Vertical drainage

This method of getting rid of flooding is rarely used. It consists in placing special prefabricated wells, wells and sedimentation tanks at certain points of the site, usually in critical areas, mines, problem basements or near buildings. As these tanks fill up, water is automatically pumped out by drainage pumps with float switches. Such a system is used when there is no necessary slope on the site for open drainage, and linear deep drainage through pipes is difficult due to the lack of available water discharge points. Such drainage, in fact, is the simplest in terms of construction and labor costs, however, to function correctly, it must be carefully designed, which is very difficult to do. A radial system can be considered as a variant of vertical drainage, when prefabricated shaft wells are supplemented with wells and underground channels. Radiation drainage is rarely used in private suburban construction due to its high cost.

How to drain the site

Deep, closed drainage

It is the leader among all types of drainage in terms of functionality, it is most often used. Such a system is suitable for any areas with excessive moisture or high groundwater levels, including those where it is not possible to build a surface outlet (no slope, dense buildings, extensive landscape design, a system of paths, complex multi-species landscaping …). Closed drainage is durable (service life is more than 50 years) and the most effective, easy to care for, it allows you to solve many complex issues of improvement and engineering problems. In clay and loamy areas, drainage pipes are laid even in the absence of obvious problems, so to speak, for prevention.

How to drain the site

Deep drainage refers to the horizontal linear type, but its point application is not excluded. The main element of this drainage system are drains in the form of ceramic, asbestos-cement or polymer perforated pipes with a diameter of at least 110 mm, mounted horizontally with a slope (about 1 centimeter per meter), as a rule, towards the natural flow of water on the site or into storage wells. Drains are usually located in a “herringbone” pattern at a depth of about one meter, they lie in the thickness of the sand-crushed stone cushion. Revision wells are installed at pipe bends and on branchings. If the territory is vast, and the total length of the drainage exceeds 300 linear meters, then a central drainage drain of an increased cross-section is used, for an area of ​​up to 20 acres, pipes of the same size are used. Next, we will take a closer look at this system as the most promising.

Other types of drainage

If there is a strong influx of water into the territory from the outside, then an interception system is built, in this case, drains are usually placed along the perimeter of the site.

Associated drainage is used to protect elongated structures, tunnels, ditches for various purposes, all kinds of communication highways located in the ground. These drains are located along the protected area. Near buildings, so-called wall drainage is used..

To localize the “spot”, a ring system was invented, in which a processed closed funnel is created.

We should also mention the mole drainage, which is intended for preliminary drainage of the site. In this case, special cavities are equipped for gravitational localization of excess water..

How to drain the site

In especially difficult situations, or with high requirements, the problem of waterlogging is solved by reservoir drainage, when deep inclined layers of crushed stone and sand are arranged under the entire problem area.

Several types of drainage can be combined depending on the specific conditions.

Drainage design features

It is advisable to carry out work on the arrangement of drainage after the completion of capital construction and the end of large-scale work on the site, so as not to damage the drainage elements. But it is better to design the system together with the development of all other drawings..

A lot of information will be required for correct drainage design:

  1. A topographic survey is almost essential. An exception may be cases when the site is completely flat, but one way or another it is necessary to determine the general slope, the ratio of the drained area to the surrounding area (lowland / hill), drainage routes and water discharge points.
  2. A detailed plan of the site should be prepared in advance, where the catchment area, engineering specifics and interconnection of buildings and other structures (fences, pools, basements, reservoirs, alpine slides, points of storm roof drains …) should be prepared. Particular attention is paid to underground communications.
  3. A separate item is a drawing of paths, paved areas, fences such as curbs.
  4. In some situations, geological and hydrological surveys can be very useful in shedding light on the nature of the ground, water regime and balance. Most loamy areas have similar conditions and do not need such thorough exploration.

How to drain the site

What should we get from the developers at the end? First of all, we need to have a technical and, it would be nice, economic justification for this or that type of drainage. Further drawings. They usually indicate the water drainage plan, zonal breakdown, associated drain lines, points of location of inspection and collection wells. Under difficult conditions and highly developed systems, images of vertical sections and a drainage diagram of structures will be required. A table of slopes and depths is created separately or on working drawings. At the same stage, a specification of all elements of the system is created (type of drain, profile and section) and the necessary building materials are calculated by the quantity.

Organizations involved in the installation and development of drainage systems, as a rule, use the “Guidelines for the design of drainage of buildings and structures.” It was developed in 2000 by JSC “Mossproekt”. The second is “Technical recommendations for the design, installation and operation of drainages from polyethylene pipes with a filter shell” (Laboratory of underground structures of State Unitary Enterprise “Research Institute Mosstroy”, 2005).

It is difficult to overestimate the importance of complex professional design, since mistakes in the arrangement of drainage can even worsen the situation. That is why, if there is a desire and opportunity to construct the drainage on our own, then it is better to contact specialists for a project, especially since it is often possible to design a system even remotely (if the developers are provided with the necessary data). On the market, the average price for the design of the drainage of the site has formed – this is about 15 thousand rubles with a visit, 10 – without visiting the facility (if the customer can provide the necessary information). The price of the issue will be about 20-25 thousand, if the site is large, and the project includes the development of drainage of foundations and a stormwater system.

Closed drainage materials

The main element of deep drainage is a pipe. If earlier drains were made of ceramics, clay, concrete, asbestos cement, metal, wood, stone, now they have been replaced by polymeric pipes made of HDPE (low pressure polyethylene) or polypropylene with a diameter of 50–650 mm. Their advantages are undeniable:

  1. Service life over 50 years.
  2. High corrosion resistance.
  3. Does not accumulate deposits, is easily washed out.
  4. They have low hydraulic resistance.
  5. Have high ring strength with low weight.
  6. Are flexible.
  7. Easy to assemble.
  8. Perforated and textile filter.

Drainage of the site

In private average construction, corrugated drains with an inner diameter of 110 mm and a length of up to 50 meters are usually used. Some manufacturers supply the pipe not in coils, but in lengths of 6/12 meters.

They can be produced with or without perforation (for point outlet). To collect sedimentary water (top water), polyethylene pipes with perforation can be used only in the upper sector – drainage and throughput. The holes are located in the cavities between the waves, which prevents them from contamination, the size of the slotted perforation is about 1.5 mm.

Filters made of geotextiles or coconut fiber are used to isolate them from clogging with small particles. With small diameters, the pipe is wrapped on a machine, if the drain is more than 250 mm in cross section, then the filter is usually applied manually. On soils containing gravel-like particles, a filter winding is not needed, for sandy loamy, clayey soils – a filter is required.

Plastic drain can have one or two walls, special ribs. Single wall pipes are suitable for most areas up to a depth of 2 meters. Double-walled drains with stiffening ribs are used if you need to deepen more, there are special loads (road, structure, high traffic area …), a very high level of groundwater, which can freeze and create strong ground movements.

Wells are also made of corrugated polyethylene. They differ in shaft diameter and height. Special features can be: diameter, number and location of connections. The exact height of the well is obtained by cutting the shaft. The drain is connected through couplings, or the pipe enters the well directly – into the holes.

How to drain the site

An important element of deep drainage is the filter. For these purposes, geotextiles are most often used, which are made from polymers by knitting, woven and non-woven methods. Due to its special structure and needle-punched holes, it is not susceptible to silting, but it filters water perfectly. In addition, this material performs a separating and protective function, it does not age, withstands the effects of aggressive chemicals, does not break from root growth, is not eaten by rodents, and is not a habitat for mold and fungi. Often, the geotextile layer is part of drainage grids and membranes – a synthetic roll material with surface protrusions, which is produced by extrusion. The natural analogue of geotextiles is coconut, which is not inferior to other building materials in terms of functionality and durability.

Special drainage pumps are used to pump water collected in tanks. They are not designed to raise the water column to a great height, but they have good performance. They are divided into units for clean water – centrifugal, which handle particles no more than 5 mm in size and the amount of mechanical impurities no more than 5%. Dirty water pumps have a slightly different impeller, so they are able to remove particles up to 20 mm in diameter, and the maximum of impurities can reach 10% of the volume. For the most difficult tasks, there are powerful pumps with metal bodies, where the maximum can reach 35 mm and 25%, respectively. Cooling of drainage units is water, therefore they have a submersible design. A clear plus is the lower intake, which ensures complete pumping of the liquid. Switching on / off is carried out automatically – by a float.

Some features of the drainage device

The installation of the system begins with earthworks. The first step is to dig trenches 20 centimeters deep more than the designed drainage horizon – this distance will be needed for the cushion. The principle is the same in width: from the pipe to the walls of the trench, we leave 20 cm each. The approximate depth is from 50 cm to 3.5 meters. It is usually recommended to lay the channel below the freezing depth – on average, it is about 120 cm (to drain water from the roots of trees, they deepen by 1.5 or more meters). The distance between drains, as a rule, ranges from 5 to 10 meters, chosen depending on many conditions. The bottom of the trench should be arranged with a design slope towards the collecting collector, there should be no sharp stones and debris on it. Get ready, there will be a lot of excess soil, it is better to immediately sort it into two sides – separately the upper and separately the lower layer (make the backfill more fertile – take out the rest, or plan).

How to drain the site

To improve filtration and separation of backfill layers from soil, the trench is lined with rolled geotextile.

The sand cushion is backfilled – this is a layer of about 5 cm. Next, a layer of crushed stone is laid – about 15–20 centimeters (fraction 8–32 mm). It is leveled at a given slope and tamped moderately. The slope should be at least 3 degrees, in practice it turns out from 0.5 to 10 mm per one meter of running pipe.

The next step is to lower the pipes into the trench and fix them to collecting headers and wells, connect the segments to each other. For connection, fittings, couplings, or high-temperature welding are used.

How to drain the site

Now pipes and wells are covered with a 20-centimeter layer of rubble and 5-10 centimeters of sand. Carefully fill the space on the sides of the drain.

Covering the top backfill with geotextile.

Backfilling the soil, laying the turf.

For possible maintenance work, a viewing well is installed at every second (many experts recommend at every) drains sharp turn. It is also recommended to use it every 50 meters on straight drainage sections..

How to drain the site

In the place where the collector enters the collection well or reservoir, a check valve is installed, which will prevent the flow of water towards the site, if for some reason the normal level suddenly rises.

Drainage system care

Through control wells, the system should be periodically inspected, especially after heavy rainfall and during the period of active snow melting. Particular attention is paid here to the presence of contamination and a decrease in the speed of water flow, an increase in the level in the wells. If abnormalities are found, it is necessary to clean the drainage.

The system is cleaned with water under pressure. The hose is put on the pump bell, inserted into the drain, and moved down the slope. The procedure is repeated from different wells. Even if no problems are found, it is recommended to do preventive cleaning of pipes and wells with a stream of water once every couple of years. Inspection wells must be tightly closed with covers during the entire period of operation.

If the drainage of the site is correctly designed and correctly assembled, the materials are correctly selected, then caring for it will not cause much trouble, the system will serve both you and your children without problems.

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Comments: 3
  1. Hadley

    Can you please provide more specific details or context regarding what you mean by “drain the site”? Are you referring to removing excess water or liquids from a specific location, such as a flooded area? Or do you mean something else entirely? Clarifying the purpose or nature of draining the site would help in providing a more accurate response to your question.

    Reply
    1. Carter Palmer

      In order to provide a more accurate answer, it would be helpful to have additional details about what you specifically mean by “drain the site”. Are you referring to the process of removing excess water or liquids from a particular location, like a flooded area? By clarifying the purpose or nature of draining the site, I can better address your question.

      Reply
  2. Emily Mitchell

    Could you please provide more context or specify what exactly you mean by “drain the site”? Is it about removing excess water, like draining a flooded area? Or perhaps draining resources or information from a website? Clarifying this would help in providing a more accurate answer or solution.

    Reply
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