Storm sewer cleaning technology and an overview of preventive measures

Cleaning methods used by specialists

Sewer pipe cleaning carried out using several methods:

1. Mechanical - involving the use of a cable or a cleaning machine;
2. Hydrodynamic - special nozzles and a station capable of supplying water under pressure up to 200 bar are used;
3. Pneumatic - the cleaning tool is equipment that supplies compressed air under high pressure;
4. Electromechanical - designed to effectively remove blockages between wells and in apartments.

Sewer cleaning and blockage removal in Moscow and the Region, ordered at, is carried out by specialists with many years of experience who guarantee all work.

When Cleaning Is Necessary

Household users should be aware that problems do not always appear suddenly. For example, sewer cleaning is required after oil products or lime enter it. The second common reason is the ingress of silt into the pipes. In this case, you need to dig everything out. Local repairs are not enough. Malfunctions often arise due to the mistakes of the site owners themselves or neighbors. For example, improperly carried out earthworks provoke the ingress of soil into the system.

To be effective, storm drains must be cleaned regularly.

The geological and geographical features of the area should not be written off. If the site is located near a hill, then heavy rains will bring a lot of silt and other dirt.

In addition, problems may arise due to other circumstances:

• Pet activity;
• Construction and installation works carried out nearby;
• If the sewer system of the site is connected to the general one, then the breakdown of one provokes a chain reaction;
• Incorrect flushing;
• Partial shift of the building foundation.

Storm sewer closed and open type can fail for many reasons

The sooner the owner of the site pays attention to the breakdown, the better.Regular preventive inspections can help reduce downtime due to a malfunction.

They are held after rain, hurricane and other vagaries of nature.

Cleaning methods

When the water drainage system on the site of the house or cottage is built and started to work, the foundation of the house will no longer become damp, the soil under it will not be washed out with water, and on the site of the owners it will not be necessary to bypass the puddles formed after the rain. However, such a system will require constant maintenance. This means that the pipes will require cleaning and flushing.

Typically, inspection and maintenance of the sewer system to drain storm water from the site is carried out several times a year, sometimes once. Without fail, such a check is carried out immediately after the departure of winter and the melting of snow, as well as in the fall, after the rainy season, which carry stones, sand and leaves with them into the pipes.

How do the professionals do it? There are several types of cleaning. Here is some of them:

• mechanical;
• hydrodynamic;
• thermal;
• chemical.

Now briefly about all cleaning methods. The first method, mechanical, involves the removal of traffic jams by removing them with a cable or other devices. When pipes are cleaned by the hydrodynamic method, this means that water will be supplied to them under strong pressure, which should break all blockages. The thermal method is essentially similar to the hydrodynamic method. But the water that is supplied to the pipes is heated to the boiling point, as a result of which the plugs soften and are easier to remove.

The last option, chemical, is more voluminous. Can use for cleaning soda, various compositions from stores.However, it has a minus - an unpleasant odor and the likelihood of spoiling the skin of the hands or body when chemicals come into contact with them. Therefore, if it is decided to pierce pipes with chemicals, you need to protect yourself from it by wearing a respirator and gloves, as well as long-sleeved clothing and pants.

What activities are carried out during the procedure

The main document, which lists all the necessary measures, is the regulations for the maintenance of external sewerage. It is compiled in accordance with the technical and sanitary requirements for the operation of drainage systems. In addition, environmental protection standards are taken into account. The necessary procedures include:

• regular visual inspection of external, accessible parts of the system;
• timely cleaning of pipelines;
• pumping, cleaning septic tanks (for autonomous systems);
• checking the condition of the sewer;
• planned cleaning of the riser of apartment buildings;
• maintenance or overhaul of equipment or pipelines that are part of public or industrial systems;
• emergency work, flushing or cleaning of pipelines and wells;
• tightness control of the central collector and outlet lines.

Maintenance of sewer systems
be carried out only by employees with special training and appropriate
permission to do such work. All actions are carried out according to the action plan,
drawn up according to the requirements of the regulation. Actions taken are noted in
log, indicating the detected shortcomings, the measures taken and the status at the end of
works.

Repair of the collector and external elements

Repair, maintenance of sewerage includes an annual check of the condition of the collector in the list of works. The following tasks are solved:

• inspection of wells, replacement of upper and lower hatches (if necessary);
• checking the condition and replacing the brackets in the wells. If necessary, additional support elements are installed;
• checking the condition and restoration of gutters or storm sewer trays;
• inspection and repair of the necks of revision wells;
• replacement of seals.

Performed every 2 years
collector overhaul. The scope of work includes:

• repair of wells, if necessary, a complete alteration of tanks is carried out;
• replacement of failed pipes, inlet and outlet sections of the collector;
• repair or replacement of all valves;
• cleaning and washing storage tanks;
• checking the tightness of tanks;
• overhaul of pumps of pressure sections of the system, impellers;
• filter replacement;
• replacement of bacteria in the tanks of treatment systems.

All these activities need to be done
for both public and private sewer systems (adjusted for
design features).

Causes of blockages

During operation, the storm drain periodically fails. This is due to the peculiarity of this type of sewage. With an increased load on the water drainage system associated with the melting of high snow cover or heavy rains, earth, sand, small branches, grass, leaves, and debris penetrate into the trays and pipes. The resulting blockage can reduce the effectiveness of sewage to zero.

You can solve the problem yourself - this is true for mixed and open (surface) systems. It is also practiced to turn to special companies that provide services of this kind. Calling specialists is not a cheap pleasure.The owners turn to them only in extreme cases, when it is not possible to cope with blockages in underground utilities.

It should be noted that any sewer systems need regular preventive inspections, which significantly reduce the risk of blockages. Such inspections are carried out once or twice a year. Preferably in autumn and spring. In the spring, there is a high risk of various debris being transferred to the open elements of the system, and in autumn, fallen leaves and small branches get into it. An extraordinary inspection is always carried out:

• in case of repair work on the roof;
• after paving the yard or laying tiles;
• after cosmetic or any repair of buildings.

Mechanical way to clean the system

The most affordable and popular cleaning method, which is great for all open storm drains, is mechanical

It does not require any special equipment or special skills, except perhaps caution when working at height. The essence of the work is the mechanical removal of accumulated debris

Mechanical cleaning of gutters

Before cleaning, do not forget to protect your hands with thick gloves to protect yourself from sharp fragments and encounters with insects.

To complete this task, you will need simple equipment: a ladder, a brush with bristles made of plastic or synthetic fibers, a spatula or a shovel, a garden hose with a water connection.

An excellent tool can be made and do-it-yourself from ordinary plastic bottle, cutting a semicircular hole in it according to the diameter of the gutter.Just before cleaning, do not forget to protect your hands with thick gloves to protect yourself from sharp fragments and insects.

Specialized sectional, rod or drum-type cleaning machines can facilitate manual labor, however, they are more designed to remove blockages in pipes, rather than cleaning open gutters.

But there is also an option for those who do not want to collect leaves on their own - a robot vacuum cleaner.

Automated Robot Vacuum Cleaner

They can handle even wet foliage, work in water, and are equipped with a recognition system that helps you determine how many passes will be required to completely clean the drain.

As soon as this miracle of technology is installed on the roof, it will begin to move along the perimeter of the gutter system, removing dirt and debris with brushes. Can be powered by electricity or batteries.

Sewer blockage prevention

Even with the correct operation of the system, various kinds of deposits accumulate inside the drainage pipelines. Their nature depends on many factors: fat, protein, textile deposits, sand, soil, clay, oil products, silt, etc. However, in practice, there are also stones, bricks, crushed stone, glass and plastic, sprouted roots, concrete. Over time, the amount of pollution increases, the capacity of the sewer network decreases and there is a risk of an emergency and sewer blockages.

Often, the owners and users of the systems are not even aware of the presence of serious deposits in the sewer pipelines. Unfortunately, in the future, this inevitably leads to blockage and, as a result, to:

• overflow of wells;
• disruption of production, up to a complete stop (accordingly, this leads to financial unforeseen losses and losses);
• violation of the tightness of sewer pipeline networks, their damage and destruction;
• release and ingress into the soil of polluting wastewater;
• violation of environmental safety, the imposition of penalties by inspecting authorities;
• the appearance of unpleasant odors and flooding of the premises with effluents.

All these unpleasant consequences can be prevented by performing regular work on the complex flushing of sewers and timely diagnostics of the condition of pipelines. It should be noted that the cost of work when removing serious deposits is sometimes several times higher than the cost of regular maintenance of sewer systems, preventive flushing of sewer pipes.

In the course of preventive sewer flushing, the cavity of the pipelines of the drainage networks is cleaned, the washed deposits are disposed of at special landfills, video inspection and assessment of the condition of the system sections are carried out. In the event of a violation of the integrity of pipelines of sewerage networks, an appropriate conclusion will be issued with recommendations for eliminating the identified defects.

Causes of clogging

All sorts of small debris penetrates into any system. There are other causes of blockages:

• Construction works. If the facade was updated or the roof was blocked, then it is necessary to blow out the storm sewer. It is checked whether plaster fragments, plastic and other materials have been brought into the pipes and gutters, which will turn into a cork in the rain.
• Abundant rain.After a heavy downpour, it happens that the system is flooded with mud or - or fine sand. It is difficult to prevent such a phenomenon, thanks to) (there is only one way out - to carry out cleaning.
• Undeveloped montage. When the angle of inclination in the pipeline is incorrect or absent in total, the water stagnates and debris accumulates faster. You can check compliance with the building level.
• Curvilinear pipe holding. If the system is equipped with a large number of sharp turns, there will definitely be blockages. That is why, when drawing up a project, it is necessary to minimize bends.
• Common omentum. In closed systems, when the storm drain is connected to a pipeline that removes household waste, often the problem is solved by cleaning the pipe head.

Cleaning storm sewers using special equipment

The method described above is relevant for storm drains of small capacity, with a diameter of underground pipes no more than 200 mm.

Carrying out preventive or emergency work at large sewer facilities will require the intervention of professionals and the use of specialized equipment.

In the cavities of pipes and wells, tens of cubic meters of sandy-silty deposits in a compacted state can accumulate, and it is simply unrealistic to remove them manually.

In almost all cities, underground communications service enterprises have been created, which are armed with a fleet of vehicles specially designed for these purposes.

For high-quality cleaning of a storm drain overgrown with mud, you will need a sewer washing machine and a vacuum sludge pumping unit.

Usually this special equipment is installed on the wheelbase of powerful cars.

Some modern installations combine both functions - they are equipped with hydrants for washing operations, and equipment for pumping out washed sludge with an appropriate bunker.

Such equipment is quite heavy and overall, therefore, even at the stage of designing a stormwater, entrances to service points (wells and collectors) are provided.

The shorter the hoses used for water supply and soil suction, the more effective the cleaning work.

Thus, before calling specialists, it is required to carefully prepare access roads, if necessary, to make flooring on the ground in order to avoid slipping of heavy wheeled vehicles.

The operation of the washing machine involves the use of a significant amount of water.

It is good if there is a stationary hydrant nearby, otherwise it is necessary to provide for the nearest water intake points.

With severe blockages in pipes and wells of large diameter, cleaning will involve the need to periodically empty the sludge bins.

It would be advisable to provide a site near the place of work, from where the dried mud can then be loaded and removed by conventional dump trucks.

For a preliminary assessment of the state of underground utilities, specialists can use special telemetric devices - they give a visual picture of the degree of clogging and the integrity of the pipe walls.

Flushing technology

1. The brigade arrives at the serviced object with a flushing machine filled with clean water.
2. A high-pressure hose with a special nozzle is inserted through the well into the pipe body from the descending part to a depth of 1-2 meters.
3. After the supply of water pressure (180-200 bar), the flushing process begins.

The nozzles on the head of the sleeve are arranged in a circle and directed so that the water jets effectively wash the walls and create a reactive force that moves the sleeve forward in the pipe cavity.

Silty sediments are washed away by the flow of water and flow into the well.

1. After passing through the entire section, the sleeve is wound back without stopping the water supply, which ensures thorough cleaning.
2. The washed deposits are cleaned out of the well manually, and if there is a significant amount of them, they are pumped out with a sludge pump.

In the bunker of this machine, the pumped out masses are separated from the water, which can be reused for the washing process.

As the hoppers are filled, the sludge pump is emptied at a waste landfill or at a specially prepared site.

Pneumatic cleaning

In some cases, with old petrified layers that are not amenable to conventional washing, they resort to the technology of pneumatic explosion.

Special pneumatic chucks introduced into the cleaning area create pulsed local water hammers, leading to short-term changes in the geometry of the pipe, which do not affect its integrity, but effectively break off the petrified layers.

This technology is quite expensive, but in some cases it is the only possible one.

Preventive measures against clogging

Since the storm drain system is in constant contact with the environment, it is completely impossible to isolate it from the penetration of debris and sand.

To help reduce the chance of blockages:

• Design and installation of communications in accordance with SNiP No. 2 of 03/04/85.
• Installation of protective gratings on open storm sewers.
• Equipment for sand traps and maintenance wells above them.
• Installation of manholes in places of wiring, turns, level differences of the pipeline.
• Installation of grease traps at the junction of storm drains with domestic wastewater.

Local control and cleaning of key areas of stormwater contamination will help to meet two preventive flushes of the pipeline and keep the system in working order all year round.

Expected results

Maintenance of sewer systems
ensures the achievement of the following results:

• uninterrupted operation of all sections of the complex;
• maintaining all system parameters at a given level;
• exclusion of the possibility of emergency situations;
• saving money that can be spent on system recovery;
• constant monitoring of the operation of all parts of the system, collection, analysis of information about its features or capabilities.

Please note that plumbing services
and sewerage is a mandatory planned procedure. It's not a one-time
event, but an ongoing process. Without it, the successful operation of sewer networks
impossible. A feature of the system is the gravity-flowing nature of the movement of effluents.
Normal operation is possible only with the correct position of the pipes, compliance
their throughput to the calculated values. Without constant supervision or
adjustment of network elements, the use of sewerage will become impossible.

Features of storm sewers

The work of stormwater is not limited to the simple collection of precipitation. Waste water must be disposed of, and before that it must be cleaned of harmful impurities. Drainage and wastewater treatment is carried out by any sewer network. Harmful impurities that are present in wastewater include:

• gasoline and engine oil;
• various chemicals that are sprinkled on roads in winter;
• a variety of garbage that, one way or another, ends up in sewage.

If the system is not equipped with cleaning devices or does not cope with the tasks, the sewer system may become clogged.

Storm sewer service

Maintenance of storm sewer networks consists in cleaning the receiving tanks from sand, debris and other foreign objects. In addition, work is underway to replace worn-out trays, underground pipes, and other elements. Technical work is carried out on the pressure sections of the system - repair of pumps, replacement of filters. Inspection, checking the condition of metal parts prone to corrosion.

The specificity of the operation of storm systems is seasonal. This means that for some time the internal cavity of the pipes is empty. Rodents, birds can settle there, garbage can accumulate. Checking the condition of channels or rain collectors allows you to detect unwanted elements in time and immediately remove them from the system. These works are carried out in autumn, after the end of the rainy season. The second check is made in the spring, before the start of active snow melting.

Causes of clogging of drainage systems

In any system, regardless of the type of its design, various small litter regularly penetrates - the bones of fruit trees, insects, fallen twigs and leaves, bird feathers and nesting material.

But there are other reasons for blockages:

1. Incorrect installation. If the required angle of inclination towards the water collector is not maintained in the pipeline (or is absent at all), water will stagnate, and debris will accumulate faster.You can make sure that the standards are observed using the building level (the optimal indicator is 2-5 mm / running meter).
2. Curvilinear pipe laying. If the system has many sharp turns, blockages are inevitable. Therefore, when planning the pipeline, try to keep bends to a minimum. Yes, and it is useful for self-designing or accepting work from builders to first familiarize themselves with SNiP 2.04.01-85.
3. Abundant rainfall. After a heavy downpour, the system may be flooded with fine sand, silt or mud. It is difficult to prevent natural disasters, but it is recommended to check the operation of the system after them and arrange an unscheduled cleaning.
4. Public litter. For closed systems in which storm sewers are combined with a pipeline that discharges domestic wastewater, most often the problem can be solved by cleaning the house pipe.
5. Construction works. If the roof was covered or the facade decoration was updated, after the repair is completed, it is necessary to check whether the wind has brought foam plastic, fragments of plaster and other materials into the gutters and pipes, which will turn into a cork impervious to water during the next rain.

In some cases, the cause of blockage can also be the penetration of oil products into the system. True, this phenomenon can be attributed to force majeure, which disable stormwater much less often than the banal accumulation of leaves. But if this happens, you should immediately call specialists who will set up the system and prevent contamination of the soil and groundwater.

Storm sewer device

Storm sewer is a complex of pipes, trays, tanks. They provide
collection, movement of rainwater to the places of disposal, discharge. There are two types
OK:

• outdoor (or open). It is a network of trays (troughs) through which water flows to the treatment plant. Cleaning an open-type storm sewer is simple, but the system itself does not allow the surface to be used for household needs;
• underground (closed). It consists of pipes laid in the ground at a certain depth. Cleaning a closed storm drain is more difficult, but the surface can be used for any purpose.

Meet fully open or
closed LC is difficult. Typically, combined systems are built, consisting of
areas of both types. Options
these parts are the same, provide equal bandwidth. Difference
consists only in the way of placement.

Periodicity and flushing methods

If the storm drain is designed in accordance with the requirements of SNiP, its throughput and pipe slope are correctly calculated, and do not allow water to stagnate, all debris filters are installed, then this system design is capable of self-cleaning.

If the pipes are clogged, there will certainly be stagnant water on the site, which will then lead to flooding of basements and basements, damp walls, destruction of road surfaces, and erosion of open ground areas, such as flower beds or lawns.

In order to avoid negative results, a control inspection and cleaning of storm sewers should be carried out at least once a year.

But practice has shown that the best solution would be to service the storm water seasonally, that is, twice a year. The first time - in the spring, when all the snow masses will come down, and the second - in the fall, before the period of long rains.

If serious repair and construction work has been carried out on the site, it is recommended to carry out an unplanned cleaning.

The degree of clogging, as well as the type of storm drain and its technical properties, determines the method by which the sewer will be cleaned.

Can be applied:

• Simple mechanical cleaning of gutters, wells and pipes by punching plugs.
• Hydrodynamic method - pipes are flushed under water pressure.
• The method of thermal action on pipes using hot water or a jet of steam.
• The use of special chemicals that dissolve blockages.

Even mechanical or hydrodynamic cleaning is enough to service storm drains in private or urban residential areas.

Storm sewer service

In most cases, stormwater maintenance comes down to periodic cleaning. Thus, the throughput of the pipeline may gradually decrease due to the formation of deposits on its walls and the appearance of blockages. About once every six months, the pipes must be cleaned. It is most convenient to carry out cleaning in the fall before prolonged rains and in the spring after the snow melts.

In addition, it is important to constantly monitor the operation of storm sewers. So, after heavy and long rains, as well as after construction work on the territory, the storm drain can become clogged faster.

Drainage elements can be cleaned in the following ways:

• mechanical;
• chemical;
• hydrodynamic;
• thermal.

With the thermal method, blockages are removed using steam and hot water. The chemical method involves cleaning with special reagents that corrode deposits. They are harmless to plastic.The hydrodynamic method is the supply of water under high pressure, as a result of which blockages are completely removed. Mechanical cleaning is carried out using crowbars and cables. Also deposits are removed manually. As a rule, hydrodynamic and mechanical methods are used for regular cleaning.

The cleaning of the storm drain is carried out in several successive stages.

1. Cleaning of elements located on the roof

It is done mechanically. First, the gutters, funnels and pipes are inspected, after which the identified blockages are removed manually.

2. Cleaning and maintenance of filter elements

Access to such elements, as a rule, is open. For cleaning, siphons and filters are dismantled and disassembled, all accumulated deposits are removed from them, they are washed, and then installed in place. Some models of filter devices do not require dismantling.

3. Cleaning underground elements of storm sewers

If the storm sewer is open, it is enough to remove the covering trays and grate channels for cleaning and remove blockages manually or using a jet of water under pressure. After completion of the work, the gratings are returned to their place.

According to the experience of Mos-drainage specialists, closed-type storm drains are cleaned with pressurized water. For this, a household car wash or special hydrodynamic equipment can be used. As a rule, for domestic storm sewers with pipes with a diameter up to 200 mm a normal car wash is enough. To make cleaning more efficient, water can be alternately supplied in two directions. First, the system is flushed towards the tank in which the effluents are collected, and then away from it.

During normal operation of the storm sewer, water does not stagnate in the system - it must quickly go through the pipes into the tank. If this does not happen, and water is standing in the pipes, the system probably needs service. Problems with water drainage can also be associated with overfilling the reservoir - for example, after very heavy rainfall or rapid melting of large amounts of snow. In this case, and provided that the water eventually goes into the tank, cleaning the system is not required.

The expediency of attracting specialists

Cleaning of drainage systems

In most cases, preventive work to clean the sewer from debris and sand can be performed by non-professional workers, these works can be performed by janitors or home owners.

But there are cases when it is impossible to do without a car wash or a Karcher device, this problem most often occurs as described above with closed-type systems, yet when using these types of sewers, invite a specialist with special tools to clean it. Poor cleaning of closed systems can cause the destruction of the foundation, as well as flooding of the basement floors of the building.

Prevention of blockages in storm sewers

To reduce the cases of clogging of the sewer, it is recommended to use protective elements that are mounted in the sewer system. An example is the installation of a filter in places where water is drained. The most commonly used sewer protection elements are:

• Sand traps;
• Absorption blocks;
• Various filters;
• Ultraviolet - disinfection stations;
• separators;
• Settling tanks.

Choosing protection based on the need for it, subject to local factors, that is, a sand trap is most often needed for a residential building. Most of the remaining protective elements are used in the arrangement of the sewerage of industrial facilities, that is, in the event of a possible ingress of chemicals into the sewerage system, it is necessary to install a filter type protection system.

Application of sand traps

sand trap

The sand trap is the most common protective element mounted in sewer systems, let's consider the protection in more detail. The principle of operation of the protection is that water enters it from above, and exits from the side of the bottom, thereby creating a level difference, due to which the sand settles in the gravity sump. The sand trap is installed exclusively on sewer inlet.

To prevent clogging at the design stage, it must be taken into account that debris is most susceptible to accumulation in pipe bends, therefore it is necessary to lay pipes as straight as possible, if you already have a sewer system installed and there are many pipe turns, you should think about its partial alteration.

If it is not possible to sewer without turning, equip these places with manholes.

After reading the article, you can make an entry, cleaning the sewer is carried out to restore its main functions, to prevent future blockages, it is necessary to equip the sewer with protective elements.

To expand on the topic in more detail, we suggest watching a video in which sewer cleaning is carried out by a professional machine.