Nature, definition and types of drainage

LEARNING ELEMENT OBJECTIVES

After you have learned LE-1, you should:
- know why a drainage system is necessary;
- recognise the different parts of the drainage system and be able to explain their function.
NATURE AND DEFINITION
Water contributes to the wear and damage of the road. The water can be in the form of ground water (inside the earth), surface
water (ponds, streams), or rain (which will become surface water when it has reached and collected on the surface). Water can
damage the road in two ways: by washing away the soil (erosion or scouring) or by making the road less strong to traffic (lowering
the road bearing capacity).

Fig 1
It is therefore very important to have a good drainage system which allows for the water to flow off the road and away from it as
quickly as possible. Such a system consists of several components:
- road surface drainage which makes the water flow off the road surface;
- side drains and mitre drains which lead the water away;
- catchwater drains which catch the surface water before it reaches the road;
- scour checks which prevent erosion in the ditches by slowing down the water;
- culverts which will lead the water in the side drains under the road to the other side;
- Water-table drainage which will lower the level of underground water.
All these drains have to work together if the results are to be good and it is you, as the construction supervisor, who have to set
out, instruct labourers, control and decide if the drainage system is correct.

Fig 2
REMEMBER: THE DRAINAGE SYSTEM IS THE MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL THE DIFFERENT COMPONENTS IN EARTH ROAD
CONSTRUCTION AND IF IT FAILS, THE WHOLE ROAD CAN BE WASHED AWAY OR MADE IMPASSABLE.