Chap-3

Storm water drainage system

&
Rain Water pipes
 Roof drainage systems

A roof drainage system is composed of storm-water

collection devices located in the roof and piping, connected to
the collection devices, which transforms the runoff out of
the building to the ground. Spacing and location of the roof
drains are dependent on a number of local conditions and
building characteristics. Consideration should be given to
such criteria as the local climatic conditions, type of roof,
slope of roof, location of pipe chases, and available ceiling
space to install piping.

Rain water pipe should not be connected to sewage pipe

It has been found that a storm producing a rainfall intensity
of 75 mm/hr may occur for 5 minutes once in 4 years, and can
cause serious damage. The rate of run-from roof + balconies
is calculated as follows:
A × P× R
Q= [ m 3 / s]
3600 × 1000
Where Q = The rate of run-off from roof and balconies.
A = effective area m2.
P = impermeability factor which is 0.9 (concrete)
for asphalt in good order is (0.875).
R = Rainfall intensity mm/hr, ( 75-100 mm/h )
For example:
Calculate the flow rate from a concrete roof having an
effective area of 50 m2 when the rainfall intensity is 75
mm/hr.
50 × 0.9 × 75
Q= = 0.001 [ m 3 / s ] that is 1 liter / sec .
3600 × 1000
Example
Calculate the diameter of a main surface water drain
pipe for an asphalt-covered car park measuring 100 m x
75 m. (assuming rainfall intensity =50 mm/h, take the
flow velocity = 0.8 m/s. Impermeability factor= 0.9,(Full
bore discharge).

A × P× R
Q= [ m 3 / s]
3600 × 1000

(100 × 75) × 50 × 0.9

Q= = 0.09 [ m 3 / s ]
3600 × 1000

4×Q 4 × 0.09
Q = A×V , d = = = 0.386 m
V×π 0.8 × π
 Roof Drainage Design Procedure
The following procedure should be used in designing a roof drainage
system:
(1) Lay out the position of the roof drains, deck drains and rainwater
leaders. Consideration should be given to placing an overflow drain
adjacent to each roof drain.
(2) Determine the area to each roof drain, deck drain, gutter, or
rainwater leader. The area is the surface area of roof that drains towards a
specific drain. This area should include the effects of runoff from
adjacent walls which drain onto the walls, fig (R-1) indicates the wall
area that should be added to roof area to determine the total area for each
drain.
(3) Determine the routing and slope of the storm-water conductors. First,
determine the points from which, and to which, the conductors must be
installed. Then determine the space available for installing the storm-
water conductors. Finally, the routing and slope of the storm-water
conductors. An acceptable slope of roof concert is 0.5 % .
Fig (R-1)

Ref [2]
(4) Determine the rainfall rate to be used in sizing of the roof drainage
system. The rainfall rate (also known as the rainfall intensity) is a term
that relates the quantity of rainfall to a unit of time. Such rainfall rates
are usually expressed in inches per hour or centimeters per hour.
(5) Determine the flow rate (volume per unit time) of equipment such
as pumps, air-conditioning equipment, and similar equipment which
discharge into the roof drainage piping. Then convert these flow rates
into equivalent roof area. Flow rate is a term expressing a volume of
water over a period of time such as cubic feet per second (cubic meters
per hour), and gallons per minute (liters per second). The following
equations determine the roof area which will produce runoff at a flow
rate equal to the flow rate of the equipment:
Equivalent roof area = 96/R x flow r ate of the equipment ft²
Equivalent roof area = 359/R x flow r ate of the equipment m²
where R is the rainfall rate used in the design of the roof drainage
system in inches per hour (centimeters per hour). The flow rate of the
equipment is expressed in gallons per minute (liters per second).
For continuous or semi continuous flow : 1 gpm equivalent are is 24 ft 2 or 2 DFU
(6) Calculate the total roof area drained by each segment of the roof
drainage system. This calculation should include all roof areas
calculated in step (2) and the equivalent roof area calculated in step (5).
Express the total area in square feet (square meters).
(7) Determine the size of the roof drains and storm-water conductors or
the gutters and rainwater leaders. Sizes can be determined using table 5
through table 6. These tables list the maximum roof
area in square feet (square meters) which can be handled by
storm-water drainage piping of different sizes and slopes
for various rainfall rates.
An example of Roof rain water distribution is shown in figure
(R-2)
Area supplied by a drain pipe =
= (Area of the balcony) +(Effective area of the adjacent wall)
+ Part of the roof area.
Table 5 Rain water vertical pipe size
Size of drain pipe or leader (inch)
2 3 4 5 6

Rain fall rate Maximum tributary area (ft² )

(inch/h)

1 2,880 8,800 18,400 34,600 54,000

2 1,440 4,400 9,200 17,300 27,000

3 960 2,930 6,130 11,530 17,995

(4) 720 2,200 4,600 8,650 13,500

5 575 1,760 3,680 6,920 10,800

6 480 1,470 3,070 5,765 9000

Table (R-1), is used to size, roof drains, vertical

rainwater leaders or storm water conductors.

Ref [2]
 Horizontal pipe size (table 6)

Rainfall rate (in/hr)

2 3 (4 ) 5 6
Pipe sizing Maximum tributary area (ft² )
(inch)

3 1,644 1,096 822 657 548

4 3,760 2,506 1,880 1,504 1,256
5 6,680 4,453 3,340 2,675 2,227
6 10,700 7,133 5,350 4,280 3,566
8 23,000 15,330 11,500 9,200 7,600
10 41,400 27,600 20,700 16,580 13,800

12 66,600 44,400 33,300 26,650 22,200

15 109,000 72,800 59,500 47,600 39,650

Table (R-2),is used to size conductors or

rain water leader installed at a slope 1/8
in/ft (1cm/m)
 Horizontal pipe size (table 6)

Clean out of the drain pipe should be located every

1 2- 1 5 m
Roof Rain water Drain

Figure ( R-2)
Example : “Sizing Rain water pipe”

Suppose we decide to size the rain water pipe ( shown in figure

R-3) for a 5 floors- building having the following data :
1- One pipe is used to collect the rain water from two
adjacent balconies and part of the roof. This part of the
roof has a 65 m2 area ( refer to figure R-3)
2- The balcony area is 10 m2 each.
3- The adjacent balcony wall area is 15 m2 each ( refer to
figure R-1)
Solution:
Area supplied by the drain pipe =
= (Area of the balcony) +( Effective area of the adjacent wall) + Part of the roof area
= [(2 x 10) x 5] + [(15x 2)/ 2 x 5) +65 = 195 m2 , that is (2166.6 ft2)
From Table (R-2) a D = 3 in at 4 in/ hr Rain water intensity can handle flow from
2200 ft2 area. The 3 inch pipe is selected for this example.
 Roof Drain
AREA OF ROOF PART = 65 M2

WALL AREA = 15 M2 WALL AREA = 15 M2

BALCON OF AREA = 10 m2 BALCON OF AREA = 10 m2

Balcony drain should be away from doors

Figure ( R-3)
 Combined Storm & Sanitary Building drains

It is always recommended to have separate systems

for rain water drain & sewer drain pipes. But if
for any reason, both systems are combined, an
equivalency basis is necessary to convert the fixture
unit load DFU of the sanitary system to that of
the storm drainage system in square feet of drain
area.
Ref ( 2) demonstrated that, each 1DFU in excess
of 256 DFU should be deemed equivalent to 3.9 ft2
(0.36 m2) of drain area.

1000 ft2 of drain area is deemed equivalent to about 256 DFU.

Suppose for some reason you decide to connect part of the roof
drain to the sewage pipe. Assume that , the effective area of storm
drain from the roof is 3500 ft2 . The nearest sewage pipe
carrying 500 DFU . What would be the pipe diameter of the vertical
riser . (Rain water intensity is 4”/hr).

As mentioned before 1000 ft2 of drain area is deemed equivalent to

about 256 DFU. Now each 1DFU in excess of 256 DFU should be
deemed equivalent to 3.9 ft2 .
Remaining 3500-1000= 2500 ft2. that means 2500/3.9 = 641 DFU
Total DFU used to size the pipe = 256+641+500= 1397 DFU the
corresponding Pipe diameter is 6 inches.
Rain water drain outlet ( flat roof)
Insulation

Roof rain water outlet drain

Drainage of Car parks
Drainage of Car parks
Drainage of the roof
End of part Two