There are many ways to drain water away from your house and yard, and one of the most effective is a catch basin. It’s a concrete or plastic structure that captures flowing water from your landscape, and it can be an essential part of a drainage system.
Catch basins come in all shapes and sizes. Some are simple, while others are complex structures that utilize boxes, grates, pumps, and pipes to help move water. They have many uses near downspouts and in areas that can stop water runoff, like walkways, landscaping masonry, or low spots in the yard.
Catch Basin Basics
It’s common to see commercial catch basins in parking lots, around your neighborhood, and near local waterways. In a residential landscape, they move surface water away from your home or yard and toward drains. A standard catch basin works for residential use and can direct water from your gutter system and away using drainage pipes, trenches, or boxes that catch runoff.
The catch basin system utilizes a water collection bin, metal grate, and drainage pipes to filter, catch and divert water toward storm drain systems or city water treatment. Catch basins are usually buried near gutter downspouts or in low-lying areas of your home’s landscaping to minimize soil erosion, landscape damage, and flooding.
- Domestic Standard Square: A 12-inch catch basin is 12 inches long and 12 inches wide, made of durable plastic with a plastic grate and two 13-inch pipe outlets. These catch basins are buried at the point of gutter downspout discharge.
- Storm Water Pits with Catch Basins: A catch basin for commercial or residential use is 14 inches by 14 inches or larger and up to 22 inches wide. The large-capacity catch basins hold and discharge up to 12 gallons of water.
How Do Catch Basins Work?
Catch basins can be simple structures with an open inlet covered by a grate, a catch bin, and outlet pipes that move water underground toward a discharge area. A basin or water collection box can be placed underground in the yard with trenching and pipes that slope toward discharge points like stormwater runoff areas, curbs, trench drains, or street drains.
A catch basin is often placed at the edge of retaining walls, sidewalks, landscape masonry, basements, or terraced gardens to keep water from ponding. A catch basin system can have several inflow and outflow points. Here are some examples:
- Gutter Systems and Downspouts: A downspout is the area of your gutter system that runs vertically from gutters. It allows water to flow safely from your home toward water discharge points.
- Discharge Areas: A discharge point is any place where stormwater runoff, melting snow, or lawn sprinkler system runoff can safely drain into a city’s water or stormwater sewer system, river, or body of water.
- Sump Areas: A sump area is a low area in or near your home or basement that collects water. It may have a pump mechanism that moves water to a discharge area.
Catch Basin Styles and Uses
Catch basins come in various styles, each with specific applications and uses. Once you know what to look for, you will see that water drainage is essential to keeping water away from your home and stopping flooding in your community.
Here are a few styles of catch basins and how they move water toward storm sewers, away from structures, in low-lying areas, and as part of an overall drainage system.
- Grated Catch Basins: Used in high-traffic areas, these water catch systems are covered by a grate that filters large debris while handling moderate to high volumes of water. The ground usually slopes toward the grate, allowing water to drain quickly. You’ll find these in residential areas, commercial construction, parking areas, and near high flood plains.
- Curb Inlet Catch Basins: Used in commercial construction or within municipalities, these drain from the edge of roads and prevent road flooding. Many catch basins utilize the city’s water drainage system as a discharge area for their residential water runoff.
- Combination Inlet Catch Basins: These are common in large water runoff areas and use both an open inlet and a grate. These combination basins are helpful to homeowners. Generally found in residential areas, a pipe or trench from your home’s gutter system can feed onto a street that uses this type of drainage which may look like an opening with a grate at a curb or in a parking lot.
- Drop Inlet Catch Basins: Terraces, steep hills, and other elevated areas of your landscape can cause runoff that pools in low-lying areas. A buried and trenched pipe will help these areas drain in a way that doesn’t cause muddy, wet, or soggy areas of your lawn.
- Hooded Catch Basins: A hood over the grate helps keep sediments out of drain water that can block discharge areas. It is common in industrial settings when pollution or sediment is a concern.
- Trench/Channel Drains: Unlike your typical catch basin, a trench drain collects water in a sloped channel. Many homes use a trench drain to move water runoff away from patios, driveways, and flower beds. These drains have many uses in commercial settings, steep landscapes, and large concrete areas like parking lots.
- Dry Well – Storm water ponding can be an issue for some landscapes. A dry well uses a grating and a deeply dug well to help with flooding through water distribution. Dry wells are typically lined with material that allows water to seep into the soil and eventually move back into the water table.
Do You Need a Catch Basin?
Landscapes that deal with standing, ponding, or pooling water must consider a type of catch basin system to divert surface water. Protecting our home’s foundation is an integral part of your home’s gutter system. A catch basin can help to prevent water damage and soil erosion, protecting your home’s property value.
If you have soil erosion, sediment build-up, and muddy low-lying areas, consult a professional or check the local regulations of routing your home’s water runoff and surface water toward public discharge areas before installing a catch basin system, sump pump, or trench drain. If you plan to install a catch basin system, consider where and how much water collects in your yard and where gutter downspouts discharge as potential placement areas.
FAQ
Sinkholes often indicate a damaged or poorly functioning catch basin system. Like gutters, catch basins must be inspected twice yearly for damage and function. Consult a gutter professional if your catch basin is damaged and causing more significant issues.
Your basement is likely flooding due to poor drainage from storm water runoff. A drop-inlet catch basin uses buried pipes to divert water away from low areas of your home’s landscape, like basements, retaining walls, driveways, and patios, toward larger drains or street-level storm water drainage.
When To Call a Pro
If you are seeing mud, soggy or wet grass or have an issue with landscape flooding, it may be time to talk with a gutter pro in your area. MyGutterGnome connects you with professionals who solve gutter system problems for homeowners.
Main Image Credit: Infrogmation of New Orleans / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0
