The Impact of Leaf Litter on the Performance of Catch Basin Inlets

Abstract Submission: A full-scale model roadway was constructed at the Ocean, Coastal and River Engineering Research Centre of the National Research Council Canada in Ottawa to measure the conveyance of a catch basin inlet. In total 178 tests were performed with the primary goal of measuring the impact of leaf litter on conveyance in both ponding and flow through conditions. The inlet studied was a K-2 inlet which is used by the City of Calgary; it is a rectangular surface inlet which is on the roadway surface and follows the profile of a rolled curb 10 cm in height. Incident water depths ranging from 0.002 to 0.366 m were examined and the model roadway was tested in various orientations in flow through conditions with the cross-slope set to 2.0% and road grades ranging from 0.5 to 5.0%.
This study is an extension of other similar studies on catch basin inlets. In total the National Research Council of Canada has completed 3129 tests of 17 inlet combinations and 3 curb cuts. The objective of the work is to aid municipalities to better understand the performance of the storm water management systems and inform investment of limited infrastructure dollars to adapt to increasingly sever urban flooding.

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