Common Drainage Basin Problems The efficiency and functionality of your drainage basin depend on the surrounding terrain

it sits in. there are many forms a drainage basin can take on, and each design is slightly different in how it handles the intake and disbursement of precipitation. If the basin is located in an area with numerous uprooted rocks or an area where the rock is tilted upwards, the stream will take on a trellis pattern, in which water will flow along the weaker areas of the rock. The more that water runs over these areas, the weaker the rock will become. Annular patterns occur when there is a crater or depression that serves as the common center. In this type of pattern, the stream also runs along the weaker rock beds.

Radial drainage basins are often located around a central high point such as a hill or mound; the stream flows downward from this high point to surrounding low areas. In parallel patterns, streams flow in one uniform direction and rectangular patterns often occur along fault lines, joints and other linear zones of weakness causing streams to cut along right angles. The typography on which your drainage basin runs determines the flow of the stream. And the location of underlying weak points will determine the drainage pattern. Basins most often flow in a hierarchical formation, for instance, a smaller drainage basin will flow into a larger one. Streams are most often fed by smaller basins while rivers are mostly contributed to by larger, more substantial basins. These basins are naturally occurring as in any typography, there are going to be strong and weak points, which will ultimately determine the pattern of the basin. One of the more common drainage patterns is the dendritic formation. It often occurs in stream beds because the sediment is uniformly erodible. The pattern resembles that of a leaf, with a large stream and smaller branches shooting off of it. When the terrain the stream runs on has only been recently exposed, for example, after a volcanic eruption, pockets of water will run along the recently revealed bends. It will take time for the stream to mature and strengthen as it is continuously exposed to the elements.

After reading about all of the various types of drainage basins, the biggest problem is determining what kind of landscape youre dealing with, what basin will form or has already formed because of it, and how to work with it to the best of your ability. Basins that are transported water from a centralized high to low point may have faster runoff than one that is collecting in a parallel pattern. Therefore these basins may need to be deeper than others because it will be catching precipitation at a faster rate than other types of basins. No matter which pattern is present, all basins work to catch runoff and transport it away in order to prevent flooding of the surrounding area. The weak points will determine the size, shape and depth of the basin and over time, cause it to develop into the pattern that works best for the typography. If you have any issues with your drainage system, click here to contact a drainage professional to see what assistance they can offer.