DRAINAGE SYSTEM

Drainage systems are designed in a way to discharge and or channel water properly.
Drainage system helps to maintain the health conditions and proper water management of
buildings and environment guarding against building functional and structural defects.
Drainage system are broadly categorised into surface, subsurface, and downspout and roof
gutter system.

Surface drainage system

A surface drainage system shapes and moulds the land into a watershed that can convert
runoff into an organised drainage system comprising of trench drains, catch basins and storm
sewers. Rain water accumulate on the surface and then channelled away properly from the
building to open drain network. Concrete or timber cover to surface drainage system can
serve as walkway and drive way around the building and housing estate roads. Trenches are
dug and concreted or block walled to serve as canal for channelling of water appropriately.
This prevents flooding a significant environmental public hazard. Some major surface
drainage system are open drains, humps and hollow, levees and grassed water ways.
Meanwhile, open drains could be shallow depth drain (< 300 mm), medium depth drain
typically V shaped (between 300 mm to 1 m) and large depth drain (several meters deep).

Subsurface drainage system

The subsurface drainage system is the type of drainage system that is normally buried under
the ground. The main function of the subsurface drainage system is to eliminate any excess
water that has accumulated in the soil. If you have a garden or a small farm in your
compound, a surface drainage system helps the plant in the garden not to rot as any trapped
water can cause damage to plants.
The construction of this type of drain requires the digging of trenches in the surface layers of
of the soil and the placement of underground pipes. This type is majorly called a French drain
type, drains could also be made of series of wells. The subsurface drainage system prevents
flooding by channelling waste water away from the building. This could also inhibit
stagnation of water around the building leading to the breeding of mosquitoes.

Downspout and Gutter drainage systems

This is the most used drainage system in residential buildings. The downspout is connected to
the roof gutter, then the roof gutter eliminates the excess water flowing from the roof. The
absent of downspout and gutter in roofs of building, leads to rain water falling directly around
the building which might lead to erosion and ponding of water. The downspout is a pipe for
the collection of rainwater from the roof gutter to designated places including the ground
tanks, reservoirs or other drainage systems. The downspout ensures that rain water does not
splash on the building when it rains. It also discharges the water far away from the base of the
building thereby protecting the foundation of buildings.

Drainage could also be categorised in the type of water that is being disposed and or
channelled. The three categories are: combined, separate or partially separate drainage
system.

Combined system
This uses a single drain to convey both waste and soil water from sanitary appliances and
rainwater from roofs and other surfaces to a shared sewer. The system is economical to
install, but the processing costs at the sewage treatment plant are high.
Separate system This has soil and waste water from the sanitary appliances conveyed in a
foul water drain to a foul water sewer. The rainwater from roofs and other surfaces is
conveyed in a surface water drain into a surface water sewer or a soakaway. This system is
relatively expensive to install, particularly if the ground has poor drainage qualities and
soakaways cannot be used. However, the benefit is reduced volume and treatment costs at the
processing plant.

Partially separate system most of the rainwater is conveyed by the surface water drain into
the surface water sewer. For convenience and to reduce site costs, the local water authority
may permit an isolated rainwater inlet to be connected to the foul water drain for soil and
waste water. A rodding point access is created to allow isolated storm water into pipes. These
pipes are buried in the top surface layer of soil or pavement, well inclined and connected to
the public foul water drain.

Factors affecting layout of domestic drain

1. Slope of the land – an effective drain requires installation at a specific angle to allow
water flow. Water stagnation resulting in ponding of water and blockage of drains are
effectively eliminated when adequate consideration of slope in the layout of domestic drain is
properly considered.
2. Existing utility line – building a domestic drain requires the digging of ground most times.
Several services are passed and buried underground. Services such as electricity and fibre
cables and plumbing pipes can be damaged disrupting services. To this end, it is important to
call service providers during the layout of domestic drains to give information on where
services are laid/buried. Also, service layout design available can be made available to guide
appropriately.
3. Pipe sizes and types – This will depend on the kind of domestic drain to be built. Most
drains will require the use of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipe with accompanying accessories.
Pipe size consideration should be a function of the volume of rainfall and domestic water
generation of occupants. Large pipe diameter that will allow quick passage of domestic and
rainwater is a good recommendation for effective channelling.
4. The base – this refer to the surface where pipes are placed after digging. It is essential that
pipes are placed on level ground to appropriate slope and ensure there is no obstruction such
as roots of trees. Roots of trees might cause problem in the future when they get inside the
pipes through the tiny allowances in pipe/drain joints. These roots will grow overtime causing
blockages that will hinder the flow of water. In most cases pipes may break or drain walls
may collapse requiring costly repairs.
5. Regulations – Layout of drains should follow the planning and service layout regulations
in concerned localities. It is important to obtain permits as water from drain especially storm
water will affect other building around the locations. The proposed drain layout should
comply with local building codes. These regulations govern storm drain design and specify
standards. This standard has to do with distances from facilities, sizes, health, sanitation,
handlings and so on.
6. Disposal point – there should be a clear information on the discharge point of domestic
and storm water drain. This information is necessary in securing the needed permit and the
direction of pipes and trenches. The entry point of drain is essential in determining the
appropriate slope and height that will disallow backflow should the sewer develop an issue or
a general back overflow occurs.