The Republican journal., 1908-09-10
IMPORTANCE Of DRAINAGE.
Kidding Roads Of Storm and Underground
Water Subject of Thoughtful Paper Sent
out by the Office of Public Roads.

out by the Office of Public ROADS,
| WASHINGTON, d. c., Sept. TIN. witt
an average of $1,000 tons of water fall
ing in the form of rain on each mile Of
public road in the United States annu
ally, it is scarcely to be marvelled al
that the ten commandments OF tht
road builder can be summed up sue
cinctly in the word drainage.
The saying has truth for a basis, al
good drainage is the primary requisite
for all roads. Even in sand roads this
holds true, for there good drainage
means such as will safely remove the
storm water without erosion or gully
! ing and still retain the surface moist
ure.
To secure good drainage one must
take into consideration both the sur
face water and the underground water.
The surface water must be removed
quickly and completely and without
subjecting the road to excessive scon1
or erosion. For this reason, the Gen.
ter of the road should be raised and the
slope towards the side bitches should
be from 2 to inch to each foot dis
lance. or so that the water will run
freely to the side bitches and not flow
down the road or remain in puddles on
the roadway. The side bitches should
be of ample size to care for the sever
est storms with fall of not less than
6 inches to each 100 feet. Frequent
and ample cross drains should be con-
structed and every opportunity taken
to get the water away from the road as
quickly as possible. Any road along
which you see water standing in the
side bitches or on which puddles of
water have collected or which has been
badly quilted and eroded by the rains
has poor drainage and is in need of i'm
mediate attention. In fact earth roads
nearly always require little attention
after each rain. The split-log drag is
essentially a tool to maintain good
drainage on our earth roads, and should
be used after each rain. On heavy
clay or gumbo soil the drag when pro-
perly used tends to puddle the road
surface, keep it free from ruts, dense,
smooth and hard, thus securing the best
surface drainage possible.
But in many places the underground
water is too near the surface and must
be removed before good road will be
possible. This means that some form
of sub drainage must be resorted to,
usually tile drains, of clay or concrete.
Water from whatever source must be
gotten rid of effectively, for water plus
clay or gumbo invariably equals mud
when mixed in spring and summer.
Water becomes ice in winter and as
water in freezing expands one-eighth
it's volume, the road heaves out of
shape and when the ice melts the road
disappears beneath the rising tide OF
mud constantly fed by rains, melting
SHOWS and underground springs.
In seepy and Doggy places the sub
drainage, in order to be fully effective,
should lower the water level to not less
than three feet below the road surface.
If tiles are used they should be care
fully laid, true to grade. Most failures
IN tile drainage can be attributed to
carelessness in laying, or too fiat grade.
Tile less than 4 inches in diameter
should rarely be used, nor should a
grade of less than inches to the 1OC
feet be used unless absolutely neces-
sary. In very dense soil, it is always
advisable to cover the tile to at least
depth of 6 to u inches with coarse sand
or fine gravel. Care should always be
taken to secure free outlet for the
drains and to protect the outlet with
! concrete bulkhead or catcnbasln, which
can always be kept clean and the out
let free.
The kind of tile to be used depends
ON local conditions. Concrete tile, II
/ properly made, are equally as good az
clay tile. Which kind to use is entirely
local question. of dollars an cents
If concrete tile can be made more
cheaply than clay tile Can be had, ust
concrete; if not, use clay tile.
One great advantage Of the concrete
tile is that they can be easily made by
| the local users at or near the place
where they are to be placed, so that The
| freight charges are dispensed with a.
| we'll as the large breakage losses due tt
handling. Placed in the ground, boil
are durable. Ii concrete is used, great
care should be taken to see that gooC
| grade of Portland cement is selected
and that the drains are properly con
structed. The impression, which pre-
walls to some extent, that tile dlsinte
CRATES is erroneous.
A bulletin is now in course OF prep
aration by the United States Office OF
public roads telling how to make con
crete drains. This bulletin Will treat
the subject fully, explaining carefully
every point that may arise IN making
drain pipes and cu'verts.