Design with Drainage

By TIM WILSON

Were all aware of how unpredictable Mother Nature can be. One year certain parts of the
country will receive an abundance of rain and snow, while other parts of the country
receive very little. The next year, the weather pattern may reverse itself. December and
January saw record rain and snowfall in parts of the U.S. and widespread flooding was
reported in some states. Its been raining in Seattle from the end of December to press
time (January 18th), almost thirty days of solid rain. We all watched on television the
Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California, only to find that it was raining. It
was the first time in fifty-seven years that it rained on the parade.

We're all aware of how unpredictable Mother Nature can be. One year certain parts of the
country will receive an abundance of rain and snow, while other parts of the country
received very little. The next year, the weather pattern may reverse itself.

December and January saw record rain and snowfall in parts of the U.S. Widespread
flooding was reported in some states. It's been raining in Seattle from the end of
December to press time (January 18th), almost thirty days of solid rain. We all watched on
television the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California only to find that it was
raining. It was the first time in fifty seven years that it rained on the parade.

When we have this kind of deluge of water, we have to find ways to move it and keep it
from damaging property. Many contractors have had to deal with drainage (or the lack
thereof) on some of the properties they service. What is the best way to deal with too
much water on a site? In this article we will look at some of the key factors to consider
when designing and installing a drainage system.

Drainage problems can range from a simple nuisance to serious damage to the landscape
and buildings. Poor drainage can cause unsightly areas and affect plant health. Wet areas
can be difficult to maintain and mow. If you are dealing with sports turf then poor
drainage can affect playability and limit full use of a site. Damage can occur to buildings,
foundations, asphalt and can leak into buildings and damage equipment and belongings. A
good drainage system pays for itself by correcting many problems including:

Plant material loss

Asphalt damage
Building damage
Flooded basements
Site downtime due to flooding
Damage to the landscape from mowers and other heavy equipment
Labor downtime from making areas unworkable for long
periods of time
Customer complaints
Mosquito issues with standing water (West Nile Virus)
Liability issues with standing water on roads, walkways and
parking areas

A properly designed drainage system will move excess water

off site but leave beneficial water where it needs to be to
maintain the landscape. Area and channel drains will remove
excess surface water quickly and efficiently. If the problem is
subsurface water than perforated or composite drain systems
will keep the soil drained and usable. In many cases drainage
systems are installed after the fact to correct problems. Catch basin in the foreground
However, the best application is to design drainage into a site is not obtrussive, yet does its
from the beginning. job effectively.

Since drainage problems on many sites only occur only in periods of above average
rainfall, many people neglect drainage and then pay the price when unplanned for heavy
rainfall occurs. This has definitely been the case this year in many areas of the U.S., by
then it is too late. Good drainage systems are out of sight and out of mind, but when it is
needed, people are grateful for the foresight to installed drainage ahead of time.

So what is the best way to deal with too much water on a site? Let's look at some of the
key factors that should be considered.

Why are we installing drainage in the first place? The main reasons are that we need a
way to collect the excess water and to dispose of it correctly. What a drainage system does
is it collects the water underground, channels it to a main location where it can flow into
the sewer system or distributed in the ground. Poor design or installation of a drainage
system is almost as bad as no drainage system at all.

The first basic rule of designing a drainage system is to understand grades and
topography. You would be amazed at how many people forget that water runs downhill
only. The first thing I would suggest you do is get a transit and learn how to use it, or hire
someone to do this for you. Do not try to eyeball grades. I have seen some projects where
the drainage slope was put in at too steep on an angle and when it got to the end, the pipe
was 1-2 feet deeper than the discharge point.
 Excess water can be collected through several means. We need
to identify how we're going to solve the problem. Should we
have surface or subsurface drainage? Surface water is normally
collected through catch basins. These catch basins are
connected below the surface to usually corrugated pipe that
will channel the water from the catch basins or channel drains
and have it flow to the collection point.

If it is decided to install surface drainage, we begin by

designing for a specific volume amount. To begin with, we
should consult design tables that will tell us the run-off
coefficient for the type of surface or surfaces that we are
dealing with on our site. For example water on asphalt will
run-off at a faster rate than water on grass. Then we should
calculate the worst case rainfall for a given location. This is
done by consulting 100 year rainfall charts and maps (If you
think that designing for 100 year worst case rainfall is overkill,
you might consider consulting the residents of Southern
California, the Northeast or New Orleans).
Channel drains are very
effective, especially when used
with hard surfaces. Before we begin to size our catch basins or channel drains, we
have to determine the volume of water that might need to be
moved. If we underestimate the heaviest amount of rainfall, the system will be inadequate
to move all that water and the system will fail.

So before we go the sizing the catch basins, we need to do the calculations. For example;
there is a property with 5,000 square feet of turf area. We calculate the run-off potential as
such:

(.35 X 3.5 X 5000) / 96.3 = 6125 / 96.3 = 64 gpm

The .35 is the Run-Off coefficient for the surface we are dealing with (this is obtained
from drainage design charts), in this case it is grass. The 3.5% is the maximum rainfall in
one hour in one hundred years for the area in question. The 5000 is the square footage of
the area and 96.3 is a constant used to convert the answer to GPM.

Therefore our run-off potential is 64 gallons per minute. We can now pick the proper
catch basin or basins. We could choose one basin that can handle 64 GPM or we might
decide to divide that by 4 and pick 4 catch basins that can handle 16 GPM each (better).
These would be spread out on the property

The next step would be to size our catch basins or channel drains to support that level of
rainfall. It is better to design several smaller catch basins than one big one. Your clients
will be better served if smaller basins were place around the property than just one big
one.

After sizing the catch basins, we have to size the pipe coming
out of those basins to carry the estimated volume of water. We
will feed the four basins to one main line. The pipes coming out
of each basin will be sized for 16 gpm and the main pipe will be
sized for 64 gpm. From manufacturer charts we decided to use 3
inch pipe coming out of the drains and 4 inch for the main pipe.
Typically we size the pipe for about a 2 feet per second velocity.
You should use specific drainage pipe since it is less expensive
than pressure pipe.

Subsurface
Subsurface drainage is recommended for use when there is a
fairly flat large area that is not draining well. When it is difficult Catch basin in planting area
to get the water to the area drains, subsurface drainage can play an important role.

Most subsurface systems collect water through slotted pipe or composite drainage product
and the water is carried away in standard drain pipe that should be properly sized to carry
the anticipated volume. The number of laterals and their length is determined by the size
of the area, the type of soil and the severity of the drainage problem.

Some typical sub surface drainage layouts are shown in the following figures.

Subsurface drainage design is very similar to surface design.

The difference being that there are a variety of products
available. It is best to contract your local irrigation supply house
or call a specific manufacturer for data on the composite
material or corrugated pipe to be used. They can help you
determine the volume of water that the product can receive and
carry per foot.

Drainage installation requires as much skill as does the design.

If the area drains are placed too high they will not work
correctly. If the pipe is not installed at the correct slope it will
not drain. If subsurface products are not installed with proper
filtration they will clog and not function.

A plastic grd encased in a
porous fabric is a popular
product used in subsurface
drainage. The product is
vertically installed in the
ground.
Proper drainage will help maintain a beautiful landscape or the
playability of turf areas. Large project may require that one
interacts with an engineering company for design assistance.
Finally, most manufacturers are willing and able to assist you in
your efforts to design and install quality drainage systems.
Editor's Note: Tim Wilson is a water management consultant with H2O Stewardship
Solutions, LLC, a water management/training consulting firm. www.h2o-ss.com