Catch basins and channel drains
Paved surfaces and low spots need a way to catch water fast. Here's where surface drains fit.
Driveways, patios and garage aprons shed water quickly, and a driveway that slopes toward the house can send a sheet of water straight under the garage door. A channel drain, also called a trench drain, is a narrow grated channel set into the pavement that catches that flow. A catch basin is a grated box set at a low point in the lawn or a patio. Both connect to solid pipe that carries water to an outlet.
When does a surface drain help?
- Water running down the driveway into the garage
- A patio that holds puddles or tilts toward the house
- A low spot in the lawn where runoff from several directions meets
- Sand fanning out at the bottom of the drive after storms
- Erosion along the edge of the pavement
How is it different from a French drain?
A catch basin or channel drain collects water from the surface through a grate. A French drain collects water from the soil through stone and perforated pipe. In a lot of Hattiesburg yards the best plan uses both: a basin at the low point to take the flash of a heavy storm, and a French drain to dry out the soil around it afterward. They should run in separate pipes or be designed carefully if they share one, so sand and debris from the surface don't clog the French drain.
What about dry wells?
A dry well holds water underground and lets it soak in slowly. It only works if the soil around it takes water. Sandy ridge-top soil may; a dense layer or a high water table on a flat terrace lot may not. Ask the contractor to check how your soil drains before counting on one, and to explain where overflow goes when it fills.
What should I ask about?
- How the grate is rated for cars if it's in the driveway
- Where the pipe from the basin or channel ends
- Whether there's a sediment trap or cleanout
- How the cut pavement will be patched
Upkeep
Grates collect pine straw, leaves, grass clippings and sand. Clear them a few times a year, especially in late fall and before the stormy months of spring and summer, and lift the grate now and then to scoop out what has settled in the box.
No two yards are priced the same. A contractor has to walk the lot, check the fall to an outlet and see what the soil is doing before giving a number, so we don't list prices here. Any figure offered over the phone without a visit is a rough guess at best.
Where we connect you with help
Common questions
Can a channel drain run all the way across a driveway?
Yes. That's a common layout at the bottom of a sloped drive, as long as it ties into pipe with a proper outlet.
Do catch basins need cleaning?
Yes. Leaves, pine straw and sand collect in the box. A quick cleanout a few times a year keeps water flowing.
Related services
More background: Pine Belt drainage guide.
Back yard still squishy two days after the rain quit?
Call and a drainage contractor who works the Pine Belt will come see where the water collects and where it can safely go.