Can filters or screens be installed in front of catch basins?
It sounds like a good idea. But during a rainstorm, leaves and trash in the streets are quickly swept into catch basins. Filters or screens installed in front of catch basins could cause leaves and trash to accumulate and clog the grate, preventing proper drainage and causing flooding hazards. Temporary filters or screens are sometimes placed in front of catch basins located near construction sites. These structures are also known as best management practices (BMPs) and are required to prevent sediment and construction site wastes from entering the storm drain system. Ponding will occur at protected catch basins causing possible short-term flooding. There are new technologies being developed in the form of filtration or screening devices that can be installed and inserted inside catch basins.
It sounds like a good idea. But during a rainstorm, trash is quickly swept to the catch basin and any screen or filtration device placed in front of the catch basin would cause trash to accumulate and clog the grate, preventing proper drainage and end up flooding the street. With hundreds of catch basins feeding miles of pipes and channels in the system alone, there would be far too many blocked catch basins to have crews cleaning them as the rain falls. There are new technologies being developed in the form of filtration or screening devices to be installed and inserted inside catch basins.
