Catch Basins & Dry Wells in Kansas City

For water that has already arrived

Grading keeps water moving. A catch basin deals with the place it stops. Some low spots cannot be graded out: the corner where two fences meet, a side yard lower than the street, the foot of a slope that runs toward a patio. A catch basin is a box set with its grate flush to the ground at that low point, with a pipe leaving the side of it and running to an outlet. Surface water pours through the grate instead of standing on the lawn.

Choosing where it outlets

The pipe from a catch basin needs somewhere lower to go. On most lots that is daylight on a downhill part of the property, or a pop-up emitter well out in the yard. Where the city allows it, a line can reach a storm system. Where nothing on the property is lower than the basin, the water goes down instead of out, into a dry well.

Dry wells in clay

A dry well is an underground chamber, a perforated tank or a pit of stone wrapped in fabric, that stores water from a storm and lets it seep into the surrounding soil over the following hours and days. In sandy ground that happens quickly. In Kansas City clay it happens slowly, so a dry well here has to be sized for that and suits moderate volumes: a downspout or two, a small low spot. We will say plainly when the ground will not take it and a piped outlet is the better answer.

Keeping them working

Leaves and grass clippings are the enemy. A basin with a sump below the outlet traps sediment and debris before it reaches the pipe, and the grate lifts off so it can be scooped out after autumn. Basins are often fed by buried downspout lines, paired with a French drain for water moving underground, or set at the end of a graded swale.

How long does it take? A single basin with a short outlet line is often under a day. A dry well adds excavation and depends on soil conditions.

Frequently asked questions