What is a catch basin, and what does it do? It is an unsung hero.
In spring, rain showers come. In summer, thunderstorms roam the sky. In fall, gloomy drizzles pass by, and in winter, sometimes, snow will fall. Every few years, you can look out for snow to fall significantly, up to four feet or more, in Maryland. All of this rain or snow must go somewhere. Some seep into the ground, and some evaporate. The rest must go somewhere, and if it goes nowhere, it means flooding neighborhoods, roads, and cities. What do catch basins do?
What Is a Catch Basin?
Along the street’s edges, you will see storm drain inlets and grates periodically, especially at low points. These inlets and grate covers are the entrance to the catch basin, an underground container that connects the street to the main stormwater pipes under the street.
How Catch Basins Transport Water
A catch basin literally catches stormwater runoff and collects a portion of it before letting it spill out into the main pipeline. The connecting pipe is part-way up the catch basin so that it must fill up enough before it will drain out the water. When it rains or snows enough, the catch basin will surely catch the water, preventing it from continuing any further down the street, and out to the main pipeline toward the nearest natural body of water.
How Catch Basins Filter Out Debris
There are three ways that catch basins filter out debris, which could clog the pipes and pollute the end location. You could say that the first is the catch basin’s cover, the grates. They help keep out the biggest kinds of debris, like sticks, clumps of leaves, and even toys.
The next way they filter out debris is by positioning the pipe connecting to the main pipeline part-way up the container. Before water flows out of the catch basin, dirt and other contaminants will settle at the bottom of the box, leaving only the water on top. Eventually, a professional team will need to vacuum out the muck at the bottom to keep the catch basin from causing flooding.
Thirdly, some catch basins have a filter installed in them to filter out metals, chemicals, and finer contaminants.
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