Outdoor Drain Has Standing Water in it - Starting to Smell

mreddie on 22/12/2017 - 19:10
Last edited 25/12/2017 - 23:14 by 1 other user

We have an outdoor drain/pit near our garage that catches all the stormwater, and it does a good job.

However have noticed of late that the pit is a about 1 inch or so deeper than the outlet pipes in it, meaning that there is always this leftover section of water that just sits there with nowhere to go (smelling, and attracting mosquitos). Is there something I can lay in the pit that will bring the water back up to pipe level to make sure it drains?

Was thinking of some heavy rocks of some kind….. be interested in everyone's thoughts…. (I'm thinking it's something you wouldn't concrete?).

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  [Deactivated] on 22/12/2017 - 19:38

  Assuming you can clear the pipe out easily then you can just put some concrete on the bottom of the pit to bring it up to the level of the pipe.

  Build it up away from the pipe and angle the concrete toward the pipe.

  For a pipe that is long / difficult to clear out you would normally have a buffer area under the pipe to allow leafs and debris to sit and be cleaned out before it goes down the pipe.

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  whooah1979 on 22/12/2017 - 21:23

  +3

  A ~$7 bag of sodium chloride may help with the mosquitos.

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  theclearout on 22/12/2017 - 21:51

  +3

  You probably don't want to be doing that as what you are describing sounds like it's a silt trap. Instead of filling it in you should be ensuring it doesn't fill up to the level of the pipes by checking it regularly and cleaning out any crap that it catches.
  Like whooah1979 said throw some salt in or drop bleach in it.

  • 

    mreddie on 22/12/2017 - 22:24

    Yeah it could in fact be a silt trap, just a large square drain about 3/4 metre deep..two pipes (one coming in one side, one going out on other). I did just clean it out after the massive storms we've just had, had tons of sludge and muck in it, and that's why it's probably a bit deeper since I've done that. I like the bleach idea will give that a shot for the mozzies.

    • 

      theclearout on 23/12/2017 - 11:22

      There's certainly nicer jobs to do around the house!

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  mreddie on 22/12/2017 - 22:28

  Would this be suitable https://www.bunnings.com.au/sunray-25kg-pool-salt_p3091894 …essentially salt…?

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  Davo1111 on 23/12/2017 - 10:44

  +1

  Silt trap, clean it. After a big rainfall, just put a dollop of bleach in there. Problem solved.

  • 

    mreddie on 28/12/2017 - 17:41

    cheers will do!

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  Euphemistic on 24/12/2017 - 07:53

  +1

  It is deeper than the pipes to catch silt to stop the pipes blocking up. Keep it empty of silt by removing the sludge from tile to time, that should help stop the smell.