Though you would not think about it at first, drainage is an essential part of public spaces. When done wrong, a civil drainage system can cause all sorts of disasters- flooding, pooling and even result in accidents like slips or falls. However, when done right, the design ensures that the space works well for its intended activities and functions are carried out smoothly without any disruptions due to excessive water build-up in the area.
When it comes to drainage, there are a lot of laws and standards that need to be followed. When experienced engineers and contractors work hard at ticking everything off as per the stipulations, they often seek out companies such as Civilcast who understand these legal provisions like the back of their hand. They also look out for important things when considering civil drainage which include:
- What lies below or above ground level that may be affected by your work? There may be surface or underground obstructions as well as different ground conditions. Existing bridges or culverts can also influence the design. These must be checked to ensure they’re capable of coping with the additional discharge from the proposed drain. The alignment and capacity of the existing structure may need to be improved during construction if necessary.
- What do you want this drain to do for different scenarios (drain away water after rain, divert floodwater)? It’s important to understand the use-case in order to select an appropriate solution capable meeting the demands or needs for its use.
- Who will use this drain in future – cars only or pedestrians too? To minimize the risk of failures, a proper grating type and load class must be considered based on current and likely future traffic requirements for all operations.
- Aesthetics: Carefully considering the aesthetics of a drainage system is crucial to ensuring it is aligned with your visual project objectives. The aesthetic qualities are also important for commercial and residential buildings as drainage systems, which are frequently used in these cases, tend to be highlighted
- Sizing and hydraulics: A building must be equipped with a barrier that prevents rain from entering the building. The hydraulic capacity of both the channel and grate is essential for an assessment to determine where this system should go. Catchment hydraulics are site-specific, which means they require specific calculations to ensure drainage systems are correctly selected and sized.
Civilcast specialises in the design and manufacture of high-quality, durable civil drainage products and storm water pit covers. Although the threat of stormwater or flooding damage is universal, prevention is not: each application should have different custom-designed drain solutions to suit its unique specifications.
