Storm drain facts for kids

Storm drain in action.

A storm drain, storm sewer (U.S.), stormwater drain (Australia and New Zealand) or surface water system (UK) is designed to drain extra rain and ground water from paved streets, parking lots, sidewalks, and roofs. Storm drains vary in design from small residential dry wells to large municipal systems. They are fed by street gutters on most motorways, freeways and other busy roads, as well as towns in areas which experience heavy rainfall, flooding and coastal towns which experience regular storms.

Images for kids

Storm drain with its pipe visible beneath it due to construction work
Old German storm drain in Küstrin (now Kostrzyn nad Odrą in Poland)
A storm sewer under the main road empties into a bigger open channel
Sign alerting public to avoid dumping waste into storm drains
Typical signage embedded in pavement next to a storm drain in Boston, in the United States
Full view of a storm drain (Ontario, Canada)
A storm drain discharging into the River Brent in the UK.
Iron Cove Creek, Sydney, Australia.
Inside of a large reinforced concrete box storm drain in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.
Storm drain in Obertraun, Austria.
Storm drain overflowing in Durham, North Carolina.
114" pipe installation; Pipe: 114" aluminized type 2; Flow: 25 cubic meters/second; This is a storm drain in Guasave, Mexico.
The inlet to a storm drain in Markeaton, Derby allowing a river to overflow into the storm drain.
Inside the Markeaton Interceptor Storm Relief Culvert
Old storm drain in Kutná Hora, the Czech Republic