Storm Drain Installation in Abilene, Texas

Rain in the Big Country arrives in short, heavy bursts after long dry spells, and a storm drain system that looked generous on a dry day is tested in twenty minutes. Our storm drain installation packages for Abilene owners are built around that behavior: inlets set low enough to catch sheet flow off hard pavement, pipe sized to the design storm and outfalls that do not undermine the slope they discharge to.

We coordinate trade partners for trenching and pipe, and the concrete trade partners place the inlets, junction boxes, headwalls, flumes and curb openings that the system needs. The same crews finish the surrounding curbs and aprons, so the grades that carry water to an inlet are poured to a tolerance the inspector can verify with a level and a hose test.

A drainage plan fails most often at the places where trades meet: the lip of gutter at an inlet, the apron beside a headwall, the transition from pipe to open channel. We treat those joints as the critical work and schedule our walk-throughs around them.

Working in open trenches during storm season

Storm drain trenches are wide, deep and often cut through clay that turns slick when wet. We require trench boxes or sloping matched to soil conditions, spoil piles set back from the edge and ladders within reach of every worker. A named competent person examines the trench before each shift starts and again after any rain.

Open excavation also puts neighbors at risk. Fencing, barricades and lighting protect pedestrians on school routes and parking lots, and we avoid leaving a trench open overnight in an area where children or customers walk. If a storm is forecast, we backfill or plate what we can and secure materials that might float or wash.

Drainage patterns across the region

Drainage varies from town to town. U.S. Highways 67 and 84 run together through Bangs, leading east to Brownwood and west to Santa Anna, and roadside ditches along corridors like that carry runoff to creeks that flood in a hard rain. U.S. Highway 180 and State Highway 70 meet at Roby in central Fisher County, where open flat ground sends water across fields toward lower draws.

Inside the city we mobilize to Abilene and the highway corridors described on our US 83 and US 277 corridor page. Through Abilene, US 83, US 84 and US 277 follow the Winters Freeway, named for Mayor Jesse Winters, and the drainage structures along those routes belong to the state, so we coordinate with its permit process when a connection is needed.

Concrete structures in the system

For municipal and public works owners, the concrete trade partners form and pour curb inlets, grate inlets, junction boxes, outlet structures, flumes and channel linings. Many agencies allow precast units, and we set them on a compacted base with level control; cast-in-place structures are used where geometry or loads require them.

We coordinate trade partners for excavation, pipe installation and backfill, and we expect them to hand over a bedded, graded trench. Once the pipe is inspected, the concrete trade partners take over the structures, so that nobody is waiting for the next trade and no inlet is left standing open.

Grade first, then structure

We set an inlet elevation by surveying from the nearest benchmark and checking the gutter flowline at two points on each side. Setting the box to the pipe and hoping the pavement will match is a common cause of ponding, so we do it the other way: pavement grade first, inlet to suit, pipe to follow.

Before backfill, the inspector sees joints, bedding and the connection of pipe to structure. After backfill, we flood-test critical low points with a hose or water truck to confirm that water enters the inlet and not the parking space beside it. Photos and notes from that test are filed with the closeout binder.

Buildings that depend on drainage

A warehouse with a large roof sends considerable runoff to its parking and truck court, and a retail center needs inlets arranged so that customers do not cross sheet flow. A school campus asks for drainage that keeps playgrounds and bus loops usable the same afternoon.

Residents of Merkel rely on oil-production jobs and military-support jobs at Dyess Air Force Base, and the commuter traffic that results puts steady load on road drainage near the base. Facilities that serve those workers, from clinics to shops, have the same expectations for stormwater as any city site.

Drainage criteria and permits

Municipal drainage criteria set the design storm, the allowed discharge and the required detention for new development. Abilene's Maple Street Pump Station is a listed future project that would raise second pressure plane pumping capacity to 21 million gallons per day with a new pump and a new 2 million gallon ground storage tank, a reminder that the city's water and drainage infrastructure are planned together.

We compare the drainage study, the grading sheet and the storm drain sheet to make sure they agree before we order a single structure. Where a project discharges to a state highway ditch or a creek, an additional permit and an erosion control plan may be required, and we list those in the preconstruction submittal.

Details that decide whether it works

Outfalls need energy dissipation. Riprap aprons, concrete flumes and stilling basins prevent scour, and the downstream channel must be stable enough to receive the flow. We examine the outfall at the start, not the end, because correcting scour after a storm is expensive.

Pipe material choices affect cost and life. Reinforced concrete pipe is stiff and long-lived, while corrugated plastic is lighter and quicker to install; the engineer selects, and we advise on handling and bedding for the chosen product. We also confirm that inlet frames and grates carry the wheel loads of delivery trucks and fire apparatus. The same drainage system often includes detention and retention ponds, and where flow leaves a site it passes through culverts and headwalls as well.

Send us the drainage plan

Share the grading sheet and the drainage report, and we will walk the low points, list the structures and outfalls, and flag permits before the schedule is set. Use the contact form or call us.

Common Questions

How do you keep an inlet from ponding?

By setting the inlet to the finished pavement grade and pouring the gutter lip to slope toward it. We test with water before the final inspection and correct any low spot while the concrete is still accessible.

Do you install storm pipe or only the concrete structures?

Pipe and trenching go to partners under our management, and the concrete trade partners pour the structures, aprons and surrounding flatwork. You get one sequence and one point of contact.

What if an outfall crosses someone else's land?

That requires a drainage easement on record before construction. We ask for the recorded easement at the start of the job, because it cannot be created in the field.

How is a storm drain tested?

Acceptance usually means a visual check of joints, a deflection reading where the pipe is flexible and, on some jobs, a video run through the barrel. We schedule each with the inspector and keep the results.

Can drainage be added to an existing parking lot?

Yes, by cutting, trenching and replacing pavement. We phase the work so that sections of the lot stay open and traffic control is in place.