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Drainage
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Drainageisthenaturalorartificialremovalofsurfaceandsub
surfacewaterfromanarea.Manyagriculturalsoilsneeddrainageto
improveproductionortomanagewatersupplies.

Contents
1History
1.1Earlyhistory

DeepinsideaSydneydraininNew
SouthWales,Australia

1.218thand19thcentury
2Currentpractices
2.1Geotextiles
2.221stcenturyalternatives
2.3Drainageintheconstructionindustry
3Reasonsforartificialdrainage
4Seealso
5References
6Externallinks

History
Earlyhistory
TheancientIndussystemsofsewerageanddrainagethatwere
developedandusedincitiesthroughoutthecivilizationwerefar
moreadvancedthananyfoundincontemporaryurbancitesinthe
MiddleEastandevenmoreefficientthanthoseinsomeareasof
modernPakistanandIndiatoday.Allhousesinthemajorcitiesof
HarappaandMohenjodarohadaccesstowateranddrainage
facilities.Wastewaterwasdirectedtocovereddrains,whichlined
themajorstreets.[1]

18thand19thcentury
TheinventionofhollowpipedrainageiscreditedtoSirHugh
Dalrymple,whodiedin1753.[2]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drainage

RemainsofadrainatLothaldating
backto~3000BC

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Currentpractices
Geotextiles
Moderndrainagesystemsincorporategeotextilefiltersthatretain
andpreventfinegrainsofsoilfrompassingintoandcloggingthe
drain.Geotextilesaresynthetictextilefabricsspecially
manufacturedforcivilandenvironmentalengineeringapplications.
Geotextilesaredesignedtoretainfinesoilparticleswhileallowing
watertopassthrough.Inatypicaldrainagesystemtheywouldbe
laidalongatrenchwhichwouldthenbefilledwithcoarsegranular
material:gravel,seashells,stoneorrock.Thegeotextileisthen
TankStream,ahistoricaldraininthe
foldedoverthetopofthestoneandthetrenchisthencoveredby
CityofSydney
soil.Groundwaterseepsthroughthegeotextileandflowswithinthe
stonetoanoutfall.Inhighgroundwaterconditionsaperforated
plastic(PVCorPE)pipeislaidalongthebaseofthedraintoincreasethe
volumeofwatertransportedinthedrain.
Alternatively,prefabricatedplasticdrainagesystemsmadeofHDPEcalled
SmartDitch,oftenincorporatinggeotextile,cocofiberorragfilterscanbe
considered.Theuseofthesematerialshasbecomeincreasinglymore
commonduetotheireaseofusewhicheliminatestheneedfortransporting
andlayingstonedrainageaggregatewhichisinvariablymoreexpensive
thanasyntheticdrainandconcreteliners.
Overthepast30yearsgeotextileandPVCfiltershavebecomethemost
commonlyusedsoilfiltermedia.Theyarecheaptoproduceandeasytolay,
withfactorycontrolledpropertiesthatensurelongtermfiltration
performanceeveninfinesiltysoilconditions.

21stcenturyalternatives

Aplastic(PVC)flexible
drainagepipe,usedtodrain
waterfromtheroofofa
residentialhouseorbuilding

Seattle'sPublicUtilitiescreatedapilotprogramcalledStreetEdge
Alternatives(SEAStreets)Project.Theprojectfocusesondesigninga
system"toprovidedrainagethatmorecloselymimicsthenaturallandscape
priortodevelopmentthantraditionalpipedsystems".[3]Thestreetsare
characterizedbyditchesalongthesideoftheroadway,withplantingsdesignedthroughoutthearea.An
emphasisonnoncurbedsidewalksallowswatertoflowmorefreelyintotheareasofpermeablesurfaceon
thesideofthestreets.Becauseoftheplantingstherunoffwaterfromtheurbanareadoesnotalldirectlygo
intothegroundbutcanalsobeabsorbedintothesurroundingenvironment.Accordingtothemonitoringby
SeattlePublicUtilities,theyreporta99percentreductionofstormwaterleavingthedrainageproject[3]
DrainagehasundergonealargescaleenvironmentalreviewintherecentpastintheUnitedKingdom.
SustainableUrbanDrainageSystems(SuDS)aredesignedtoencouragecontractorstoinstalldrainage
systemthatmorecloselymimicthenaturalflowofwaterinnature.Since2010localandneighbourhood
planningintheUKisrequiredbylawtofactorSuDSintoanydevelopmentprojectsthattheyare
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responsiblefor.DrainagemanufacturersthatareshowingacommitmenttoSuDSinpioneeringimproved
environmentaldrainageoptionsintheUnitedKingdomincludeAlumascExteriorBuildingProducts,Aco
TechnologiesandPolypipe.
Slotdrainagehasprovedthemostbreakthroughproductofthelasttwentyyearsintheasadrainageoption.
Asachanneldrainagesystemitisdesignedtoeliminatetheneedforfurtherpipeworksystemstobe
installedinparalleltothedrainage,reducingtheenvironmentalimpactofproductionaswellasimproving
watercollection.Bothstainlesssteelandconcretechannelslotdrainagehavebecomeindustrystandardson
constructionprojects.

Drainageintheconstructionindustry
Thecivilengineerisresponsiblefordrainageinconstructionprojects.They
setoutfromtheplansalltheroads,streetgutters,drainage,culvertsand
sewersinvolvedinconstructionoperations.Duringtheconstructionprocess
he/shewillsetoutallthenecessarylevelsforeachofthepreviously
mentionedfactors.
Civilengineersandconstructionmanagersworkalongsidearchitectsand
supervisors,planners,quantitysurveyors,thegeneralworkforce,aswellas
subcontractors.Typically,mostjurisdictionshavesomebodyofdrainage
lawtogoverntowhatdegreealandownercanalterthedrainagefromhis
parcel.
Drainageoptionsfortheconstructionindustryinclude:
Pointdrainage,whichinterceptswateratgullies(points).Gullies
connecttodrainagepipesbeneaththegroundsurfaceanddeep

Pipingbeingplacedfora
sink

excavationisrequiredtofacilitatethissystem.Supportfordeep
trenchesisrequiredintheshapeofplanking,struttingorshoring.
Channeldrainage,whichinterceptswateralongtheentirerunofthechannel.Channeldrainageis
typicallymanufacturedfromconcrete,steel,polymerorcomposites.Theinterceptionrateofchannel
drainageisgreaterthanpointdrainageandtheexcavationrequiredisusuallymuchlessdeep.[4]
Thesurfaceopeningofchanneldrainageusuallycomesintheformofgratings(polymer,plastic,steelor
iron)orasingleslot(slotdrain)thatrunsalongthegroundsurface(typicallymanufacturedfromsteelor
iron).

Reasonsforartificialdrainage
Wetlandsoilsmayneeddrainagetobeusedforagriculture.InthenorthernUnitedStatesandEurope,
glaciationcreatednumeroussmalllakeswhichgraduallyfilledwithhumustomakemarshes.Someofthese
weredrainedusingopenditchesandtrenchestomakemucklands,whichareprimarilyusedforhighvalue
cropssuchasvegetables.
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ThelargestprojectofthistypeintheworldhasbeeninprocessforcenturiesintheNetherlands.Thearea
betweenAmsterdam,HaarlemandLeidenwas,inprehistorictimesswamplandandsmalllakes.Turf
cutting(Peatmining),subsidenceandshorelineerosiongraduallycausedtheformationofonelargelake,
theHaarlemmermeer,orlakeofHaarlem.Theinventionofwindpoweredpumpingenginesinthe15th
centurypermitteddrainageofsomeofthemarginalland,butthefinal
drainageofthelakehadtoawaitthedesignoflarge,steampoweredpumps
andagreementsbetweenregionalauthorities.Theeliminationofthelake
occurredbetween1849and1852,creatingthousandsofkmofnewland.
Coastalplainsandriverdeltasmayhaveseasonallyorpermanentlyhigh
watertablesandmusthavedrainageimprovementsiftheyaretobeusedfor
agriculture.AnexampleistheflatwoodscitrusgrowingregionofFlorida.
Afterperiodsofhighrainfall,drainagepumpsareemployedtoprevent
damagetothecitrusgrovesfromoverlywetsoils.Riceproductionrequires
completecontrolofwater,asfieldsneedtobefloodedordrainedat
differentstagesofthecropcycle.TheNetherlandshasalsoledthewayin
thistypeofdrainage,notonlytodrainlowlandalongtheshore,butactually
pushingbacktheseauntiltheoriginalnationhasbeengreatlyenlarged.
Inmoistclimates,soilsmaybeadequateforcroppingwiththeexception
Anagriculturaldrainage
thattheybecomewaterloggedforbriefperiodseachyear,fromsnowmelt
channeloutsideMagome,
orfromheavyrains.Soilsthatarepredominantlyclaywillpasswatervery
Japanafteraheavyrain.
slowlydownward,meanwhileplantrootssuffocatebecausetheexcessive
Notethatprotuberances
wateraroundtherootseliminatesairmovementthroughthesoil.
createturbulentwater,
Othersoilsmayhaveanimperviouslayerofmineralizedsoil,calleda
preventingsedimentfrom
hardpanorrelativelyimperviousrocklayersmayunderlieshallowsoils.
settlinginthechannel.
Drainageisespeciallyimportantintreefruitproduction.Soilsthatare
otherwiseexcellentmaybewaterloggedforaweekoftheyear,whichis
sufficienttokillfruittreesandcosttheproductivityofthelanduntilreplacementscanbeestablished.In
eachofthesecasesappropriatedrainagecarriesofftemporaryflushesofwatertopreventdamagetoannual
orperennialcrops.
Drierareasareoftenfarmedbyirrigation,andonewouldnotconsiderdrainagenecessary.However,
irrigationwateralwayscontainsmineralsandsalts,whichcanbeconcentratedtotoxiclevelsby
evapotranspiration.Irrigatedlandmayneedperiodicflusheswithexcessiveirrigationwateranddrainageto
controlsoilsalinity.

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AtypicaldraininBankstown,NewSouthWales

Seealso
Alveodren
Barditch
Buildingconstruction
Deepdrainage
Draincommissioner
Drain(plumbing)
Drainagebasinorwatershed
Drainagebywells
Drainagedivideorwatershed
Drainageequation
Drainageresearch
Drainagesystem(agriculture)
Drainagesystem(geomorphology)
Geomorphology
HydrologicEvaluationofLandfillPerformance(HELP)
Hydrology
JohnJohnston,whointroducedlanddrainagetotheUnitedStates.
Plumbing
Potablecoldandhotwatersupply
Septicsystems
Sewagetraps,drains,andvents
Sewagecollectionanddisposal
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Soilsalinitycontrolbysubsurfacedrainage
Tiledrainage
Trenchdrain
Trencher(machine)
Urbanexploration
Watertablecontrol

References
1. ArthurCoterell(1980).TheEncyclopediaofAncientCivilisations.RainbirdPublishers.pp.176178.ISBN0
71120036X.
2. "BroadsideeulogydedicatedtoPatrick,EarlofMarchmount,SirHughDalrymple,andothers"
(http://digital.nls.uk/broadsides/broadside.cfm/id/15893).NationalLibraryofScotland.Retrieved5April2015.
3. Seattle:NaturalDrainageSystems
(http://www.seattle.gov/UTIL/About_SPU/Drainage_&_Sewer_System/Natural_Drainage_Systems/Street_Edge_
Alternatives/index.asp)
4. "ACO:Pointversuschanneldrainage"(http://www.aco.co.uk/point_versus_channel.php).

Externallinks
Retrievedfrom"http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?
title=Drainage&oldid=655013448"
Categories: Drainage Watermanagement

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