Sewer wells: complete classification and examples of arrangement. How to build a well in the country What are the wells

Sewer wells are always used for cleaning, washing and pumping wastewater. Their absence leads to difficult situations in which it is impossible to find the place of blockage and eliminate the malfunction in the system located underground.

Classification of sewer wells

Sewer wells are distinguished by several parameters:

  • by type of network - storm, sewage, drainage, industrial;
  • according to the material of manufacture - concrete, plastic, brick;
  • by appointment - viewing, differential.

The main task of any well is to control the state of the sewer system. In addition, it allows you to overcome the difference in height between the inlet and outlet pipes, clean the pipes in case of blockages and collect the pollution accumulated in the drains.

Manholes are also divided into types.

  1. Linear - the simplest structures installed on straight sections of pipelines every 35-300 m.
  2. Rotary - to change the direction of flow. They are installed on all bends of the sewer pipe.
  3. Nodal - connecting branches of pipes at the points of connection to sewer systems.
  4. Control - in places where the sewerage of a house, quarter, street is connected to the central system.

Manholes

Drop wells

The devices are designed for joining pipelines of different heights and changing the speed of effluents. They are installed in the following cases:

  • it is required to reduce the depth of the input pipeline;
  • in case of danger of a sharp change in the flow rate;
  • nearby are intersections with underground structures;
  • at the last stage of the flooded discharge of wastewater into the reservoir.

The design of the well depends on the type of drop.

Materials for the manufacture of wells

According to SNIP, sewer wells are assembled from reinforced concrete rings, cubes or slabs. In suburban construction, brick, PVC, polyethylene, and fiberglass are often used. An important requirement for any design is the creation of tightness so that drains do not enter the environment.

Construction of concrete wells

Concrete ring well designs remain popular for suburban construction due to the advantages:

  • low cost;
  • speed of installation;
  • strength and durability;
  • convenient form for service;
  • the possibility of creating a hermetic structure.

The disadvantages include;

  • heavy weight, requiring increased costs for transportation and installation;
  • fragility, requiring careful handling up to installation;
  • the need for specialized equipment.

The manufacturing sequence is as follows.

  1. At the junction of two sewer pipes, a pit is dug 40 cm deeper than the place where the pipelines are laid. According to the project, the slope of the walls is formed.
  2. If necessary, the bottom of the shaft is waterproofed. To do this, crushed stone is poured into the bottom, tightly rammed and poured with bitumen mastic.
  3. A concrete slab is installed or poured at the bottom and equipped with a reinforcement tray.
  4. After subsidence of the bottom, reinforced concrete rings are installed on the cement mortar. Holes are made in advance for pipes, after which the joints are sealed with a cement mortar.
  5. At the junction of the input pipeline, a clay lock is equipped outside. All seams are sealed with bitumen or other sealant.
  6. The container should be checked for leaks by plugging the pipes with temporary plugs and filling with water.
  7. The structure is covered with soil from the outside with a rammer.
  8. From above, the structure is closed with a concrete slab with a hole into which a hatch is inserted.

Manholes made of plastic

In a private country house, manholes are often required for preventive work with sewer and drainage systems. With a simple system where the slope, direction and diameter of the pipes do not change, they may not be needed.

In practice, plastic containers are widely used. It is advisable to choose them as corrugated ones, since the dimensions of the shafts change with seasonal temperature fluctuations.

Finished products are expensive, so you can assemble the components separately. This will require a plastic bottom, a pipe with a diameter of about 460 mm and rubber seals. If it is necessary to go down inside, the diameter is selected at least 925 mm.

Installation of a plastic manhole

The installation sequence is as follows.

  1. To manufacture a container according to the given dimensions, a corrugated pipe is cut off and holes for pipes are made on the side. They are equipped with sealing cuffs.
  2. A pit is dug and equipped with gravel bedding. It should be filled with cement mortar and, after hardening, covered with geotextiles.
  3. The bottom is laid. A pipe is installed on it, the inlet is connected to the outlet through hermetic couplings. With a high well height, the pipe diameter is selected at least 1 m so that you can go down to service communications.
  4. The free space outside is covered with crushed stone of a fine fraction, so as not to damage the pipe with the sharp edges of the fragments. Before that, plugs are inserted into the pipes and the shaft is filled with water so that it does not deform from the pressure of the soil. Sometimes brickwork is made around it to increase strength.
  5. A cover is installed on top.

The design of the well can be arranged independently. You can buy ready-made plastic with all the components, but its cost is high. Wells made of polypropylene with a volume of 3 m 3 cost 65 thousand rubles. Installation is carried out in the same way.

Note! To prevent the manhole from being displaced by groundwater, it should be attached to the concrete slab with straps or chains.

Features of installing a rotary plastic well

In fact, the design performs the function of a viewing, but is installed at the place where the pipe turns. Installation is carried out in the same way. The input is connected to the output using fittings. A plug is installed at the connection point for access during repairs and inspections.

How to install a drop well

Unlike other structures, in differential wells, the inlet and outlet pipes are placed at different levels. They allow you to reduce the flow rate of effluents. Usually they are installed in front of the septic tank to normalize its operation.

All installation work does not differ from other types of wells. The difference lies only in the installation of a lowering that directs the flow from top to bottom.

The descent is connected to the inlet pipe with a tee, the horizontal hole of which is temporarily muffled. Then the device is fixed vertically to the wall of the well. At the bottom of the descent, a knee is installed that dampens the flow so that the drains exit at an angle of 45 °. If the height of the well is less than 500 mm, it may not be equipped with a flow damper.

Well selection

A large number of types of wells and manufacturing methods allows you to choose the right one for the price and characteristics. Concrete structures are bulky and it is not always convenient to install them on a personal plot.

Plastic products are much easier to install. In addition, they are durable and strong. Tubular construction is easy to assemble.

Each polymer from which the well is made has its own characteristics:

  • PVC is non-flammable and chemical resistant;
  • polyethylene - hermetic structures, due to high plasticity, do not burst when water freezes;
  • polypropylene - has high plasticity.

Now combined designs are being produced, where the positive properties of each polymer are used to the maximum.

It is preferable to choose wells with a corrugated surface. A smooth-walled pipe has a lower strength. The tray part should have thickened walls.

It is important to choose the right hatch. If it will be located on a footpath, the A15 standard will do. To park a car, you need a stronger product - standard B125.

Structures are monolithic and collapsible. The former are cheaper, but they are more difficult to install.

Conclusion

Plastic wells are a reliable replacement for reinforced concrete and brick structures. They are easy to install and last a long time. To prevent the structure from floating, it should be securely fastened. In one case, it is enough to compact the soil, and in the other, use a concrete slab as a bottom anchor.

A well is a mine-type hydraulic structure that allows extracting groundwater in the amount necessary for economic activity using manual lifting devices. The traditional shaft was dug by hand and reinforced with a wooden frame, later replaced with concrete rings. A gate was installed above the mine with a bucket attached to a cable, with the help of which they raised water to the surface.

With a shallow depth, a lever lifting mechanism is often used, which has received the common name "crane". The invention of the "crane" goes back to the time of Ancient Egypt, when rocker lifting mechanisms were used in shadufs to raise water to irrigated fields. Water enters the well from the first aquifer, located in a variety of rocks, which requires the implementation of some mandatory rules both during the construction of the mine and during further operation.

Types of wells


  • Key. The collection point is arranged directly at the point where the water comes out to the surface at the boundary of soil layers with different water permeability;
  • Mine. It is a hand-dug shaft that reaches the aquifer and is isolated from the ingress of melt water and mechanical debris;
  • Tubular or Abyssinian. All similarities with traditional types of water intakes begin and end with the word "well". They are a well made of pipes of small diameter driven into the upper aquifer;
  • Condensing. The moisture accumulated in the warm air mass settles on cold rocks and accumulates in a special waterproofed container.

key well


In ascending, water comes from underground under a constant small pressure and accumulates in a natural or specially equipped container. To remove excess water, the container is equipped with an overflow device that maintains the level that is optimal for taking with a standard bucket and provides the necessary self-cleaning of the container from possible contamination.

The descending one is equipped with a protective wall with a special channel for water flowing into the water intake. Due to the greater contamination with impurities, a kind of filter is arranged in the retaining wall, where most of the suspended particles settle, which provides crystal clear water at the outlet of the well. In order not to erode the slope, a channel is equipped for draining excess and a free approach to the source.

mine well

Depending on the quality of the soil, several types of shaft wells are distinguished:

  • clay wells, where almost the entire mine is arranged in a layer of dense clay, and the intake horizon can be located directly in clay or in a layer of clay or sandy quicksand;
  • sand wells arranged in a layer of sand of various fractions, located on a compacted layer or sandy quicksand;
  • swamp wells on peat bogs with shallow groundwater using a natural sand-peat filter.

Clay wells with capillary filling due to water seeping through the smallest capillaries make it possible to obtain soft and tasty water in sufficient quantities, most suitable for drinking. Insufficient at the initial stage, the performance of such a well increases significantly over time as a result of erosion of the capillary channels. A well built from start to finish in dense clay is the easiest to manufacture and does not require special skills from builders. Inexperienced builders, when digging a clay well, can skip the pressure aquifer with truly living water and dig a mine further to the quicksand.

Clay wells up to quicksand are difficult to manufacture and in some cases do not allow you to get crystal clear water. The shaft of the mine is often curved and consists of 10 rings, the lower of which is completely immersed in a layer of liquid clay. In the water raised from the well, there is always a large amount of the smallest clay suspension, which makes it cloudy, and only if the water is carefully taken in small quantities, high transparency can be achieved.

Another difficult-to-make clay well is fed from a sandy aquifer located just behind the clay shaft. With a sufficiently large amount of water at this structure, the column reaches 1.5 meters, a one-time fence should not exceed a quarter of the height of this column, otherwise the water will first become cloudy, and then the well may simply fill with sand and dry up.

Wells built on sandy soils are a lottery where, with a high degree of probability, construction may fail. It is impossible to build a sand well without special knowledge and skills. Try inserting a pipe or rod into wet sand and pulling it back out after a while. So well rings are clamped with wet sand “tightly”. The constant presence of sandy suspension spoils the quality of the water and makes it impossible to use the pump, quickly disabling it.

Wells built in swamps are usually shallow, and the water in them has a subtle smell of hydrogen sulfide, which quickly evaporates after it rises to the surface. The main difficulty in the operation of these structures is the reduction of heaving loads of soils that can separate the rings of the mine shaft, and the insulation of the upper part of the shaft in winter.

Regardless of the type of soil, a shaft well can be complete or perfect, incomplete or imperfect, and a well with an additional chamber, a sump, to create a water supply. The first is filled mainly through the bottom filter and has a small column of water. In full filling occurs mainly through the walls, but it is filled much more. In a well with a sump, the water supply is the largest, which allows it to be used in places with significant water consumption.

Condensation well


Condensation type wells are structures that release moisture from superheated air and collect it in a special reservoir. Currently rarely used. In the village of Taman, Temryuk district, a condensate well, built about 300 years ago during the Ottoman Empire, still operates. Whirlpools of moist air cool down as they pass through the well rooms to negative temperatures, and release the accumulated moisture flowing down through the ceramic pipes. The condensate well is a truly monumental structure, the height and diameter of which was 6-8 meters.


A few words about aquifers

The most important part is the part of the mine where water accumulates. When driving a mine, several water horizons are necessarily encountered, and which one to use depends on the competence of the master.

The uppermost horizon, the so-called perched water, is the moisture that is collected in the fertile layer, practically on the soil surface and may include a significant amount of impurities and pollution. Not intended for drinking and can be used for technical purposes.

A pressure or capillary horizon filled with the softest water suitable for drinking. Due to the low permeability of the capillaries, the wells in this layer have an insufficient debit and can dry out during the dry season. Passing water horizons are real underground rivers that are in constant motion. Wells on passing waters will provide their owner with high-quality drinking water in an amount sufficient to ensure life and water the adjacent area.

There are pockets of stagnant water near the passing water horizons, and if you get into such a pocket, the source will be hopelessly damaged.

Sometimes they get into pressure water layers, instantly filling the mine and providing significant volumes of consumption. From such a well, water can be pumped out using a pump without the risk of silting up its bottom.

Conclusion

At first glance, there is nothing complicated in sinking a mine and installing casing rings when constructing a well. I would like to warn you right away that you should not start working on your own without the necessary knowledge and skills. The work is very hard and dangerous. The collapse of the unreinforced walls of the mine is possible, and how many troubles the fight against quicksand delivers even to experienced craftsmen.

You should not trust the work of various kinds of "construction teams", promising to do everything quickly and efficiently. Only experienced craftsmen can make a durable drinking well with clean, drinkable water. It remains only to make a beautiful house and a bench where you can sit down and taste fresh water.

Despite the growing popularity of wells, a well for drinking and / or technical water still occupies a significant place among the hydraulic structures used to supply country and village houses, as well as summer cottages. Such popularity of a rural ordinary well is due to the possibility of combining the function of a water source and a storage tank that retains a significant volume, which, if necessary, can be used at a high flow rate and replenished when there is no consumption. The most common wells for water from concrete rings, combining the simplicity and speed of installation with the practicality and durability of operation.

Existing types of wells

Classification into types is usually carried out on the basis of the material design of the shaft wall, which can be:

  • wooden;
  • brick;
  • stone;
  • from concrete rings;
  • from monolithic reinforced concrete;
  • from polymer rings.

Each of the materials has its own advantages and disadvantages, as well as indications and limitations for use, depending on the size and depth of the hydraulic structure.

One of the first artificial structures, due to the availability, low cost and ease of processing the material, was a wooden well, which, despite the variety of structural materials produced by the construction industry, remains the most accessible, especially if there is a forest near a summer house or a country house. As structural elements of wells made of wood, sanded solid logs, timber, round timber spread in two or thick boards can be used. The final choice is made for reasons of economy and laboriousness in processing and assembling a log house from a particular material, which in turn is determined by the availability of a suitable tool and skill from the master who decided to build a water intake.

Wood has long been used as a material for a well.

The size of the structural elements is selected depending on the depth of the well, based on the following considerations:

  • log diameter - 120 - 180 mm;
  • the thickness of the timber, boards or cut - from 100 to 150 mm.

Wood species have different hardness and resistance to moisture, so when picking it is recommended to take:

  • for the lower part immersed in water - alder, elm or oak;
  • for the surface part, not subject to contact with water - pine.

A mine made of stone

A hydraulic structure that can challenge the palm in terms of the priority of appearance near a wooden log house is a stone well. It is quite possible that the first well was entirely made of natural material, representing stones, selected according to size, collected in a cylindrical shaft and held together with clay. Today, the installation of stone wells for drinking water involves the use of a thick sand-cement mixture with a high content of Portland cement as a binder material to ensure the watertightness of the structure, which is also achieved by using granite, rubble stone or dolomite as the main material, which are impermeable, unlike limestone and sandstone water from the outside, which guarantees its flow exclusively from the aquifer.


stone mine

Reliable construction of a well made of natural stone implies the manufacture of a reinforced concrete support frame at the bottom of the shaft, which is a massive base for the entire structure and ensures its stable positioning in connection with the intermediate and upper wooden element, which, in combination with reinforcing rods, acts as a skeleton. Metal rods connecting the elements of stone wells to each other are threaded at the ends, which allows them to be fixed to wooden round frames with nuts, screwed on both sides and tightened to a hard contact. The number of intermediate frames is determined by the depth of the structure, but should be at least one for penetration up to 2 meters and located at a distance of 1 to 1.5 meters at a lower bottom level. To strengthen the structure, every 5-6 rows of masonry should be provided with a closed ring gasket made of double-row steel wire with a diameter of 0.5-1 mm.

Brickwork instead of stone

The development of building technologies and the appearance of artificial stone, which, after firing, acquires water-repellent properties, made it possible to build the first brick well, which is still used today. The structure of a brick well is similar to that described for a natural stone structure, while the thickness of the support frame must be at least 100 mm and the width exceed a quarter of a meter, which will allow laying one or one and a half bricks, depending on the chosen scheme. The wooden elements of brick wells must be at least 80 mm thick, and their width exceeds the width of the masonry by 20 mm or more.


Beginning of brickwork

In order for a section of a brick well in a horizontal plane to have the shape of a ring, specially prepared templates are used during masonry, made in the form of a segment of a circle and providing the necessary shaft profile. The gaps between the last row of bricks and the intermediate or upper frame are filled with masonry mortar, which is rammed.

An alternative material for building a brick well for water is iron brick, obtained by burning the workpiece and being practically impervious to moisture.

Assembling a shaft from concrete rings

The most practical from the point of view of arrangement time and ease of use is a well made of concrete rings, which can be from 800 to 1500 mm in diameter and from 300 to 900 mm in height. The device of the well, assembled from concrete rings, provides for careful sealing of the joints of structural elements with the help of special waterproofing mixtures, by filling and coating on both sides. If the depth of the well does not exceed 6 meters, then the use of concrete pipes having a diameter of 600 - 700 mm and a length of 3 - 4 meters is practiced.

The rigidity of the device for a water well assembled from concrete pipes is achieved by arranging an external plank formwork that protects the structure from the shearing effects of soil layers, or by welding metal pieces of reinforcement or another profile to the external embedded plates.

Monolithic concrete wells

The greatest installation depth of a water well can be achieved by arranging a completely monolithic reinforced concrete structure, obtained:

  • the method of gradual build-up by rearranging the formwork from the bottom up;
  • sequential pouring of the rings to the height of the enclosing form, undermining and lowering it deep into, after which the reinforcing frame is built up and the formwork is reinstalled. The operations are repeated the number of times necessary to reach the aquifer.

The device of reinforced concrete monolithic wells for drinking water is a rather laborious and time-consuming measure, which is rational to use only if it is possible to perform one-time work by arranging a continuous double-sided formwork and a reinforcing cage to the full height, followed by periodic pouring of the entire volume, at intervals necessary for compaction concrete using internal vibrators. The external formwork elements of the wells with this organization of the process are non-removable and are subject to backfilling together with a monolithic shaft.

Assembling the shaft from plastic elements

Polymer wells are an innovation in the market of country hydraulic structures and have not yet become quite common, although they have all the set of positive properties necessary for this:

  • the final cost is comparable to water wells constructed from concrete rings;
  • an order of magnitude smaller mass of structural elements, while having a greater length (1500 mm);
  • high tightness of the assembly, achieved due to the threaded connection of the elements and surpassing even the indicator that reinforced concrete wells have, due to the complete watertightness of the walls;
  • allowable working pressure on the outer and inner walls - 50 kPa;
  • operating temperature from -70 to +50 0 С;
  • service life over 50 years.

polymer wells

An alternative to plastic corrugated pipes, with the ability to perceive external loads comparable to that of concrete wells, can be a polymer-sand composition used for the manufacture of rings 200 mm high and with a wall thickness of 45 mm. The diameter of the water well from such parts can only be 970 or 1060 mm, since the manufactured elements have only such dimensions. The scheme for assembling a well from sand-polymer rings implies fixing the links with the help of special locks that ensure the rigidity of the structure.

Well device

All considered types of wells equipped for water extraction include:

  • a bottom with a filter layer, which is a base of geotextiles and / or gravel, the layer thickness of which determines the degree of purification of incoming water, but must be at least 100 mm;
  • a trunk with windows in the lower part filled with porous concrete if the well is on a water-resistant layer, and not on sand;
  • head, rising above the ground by 0.6 - 0.8 m and serving to install equipment, a canopy and / or cover;
  • clay castle, obtained by excavation of 25 - 50 cm of soil and backfilling with clay, which is a waterproof barrier to surface runoff. Required for types of water intake wells that do not have waterproof walls.

Some authors, answering the question: “What are the wells?”, Supplement the existing classification with pipe hydraulic structures, which is not true, since, due to the ratio of the diameter of the hole in the ground to its depth, it would be more correct to classify them as wells.

Everyone who has a country house knows that water on their own plot is a necessary condition for living. Drinking water, watering the site, organizing a bathroom are impossible without a reliable water supply, but, as a rule, problems arise with this outside the city. To gain independence from the central water intake and reduce water costs will help your own well.

All types of wells can be conditionally divided into two types: key and mine. Key wells are the simplest and most economical. Their construction requires minimal costs.

  • Ascending well- this is the place of exit to the surface of the key of water. To organize this type of well, it is enough to make a small recess and install a log house. To filter the water, the bottom of the well is covered with small pebbles and sand. The thickness of the filtration layer must be at least 15 cm. The log house must be installed in such a way that its lower edge is below the level of water rise. A drain hole must be provided in the log house. If it is not installed, then the water will not be able to “rise” to the desired height and may “leave” the well. To protect the log house from debris and precipitation, a cover is provided for the well.
  • Descending keywellsimilar to ascending, but the water quality in it is worse. To purify water from soil impurities, it is necessary to install a filter at the bottom of the log house. The log house is mounted in the same way as on the ascending one.

The use of this type of wells is limited to the places where the keys come to the surface, which in most cases is inconvenient. For the organization of individual water supply, they are very rarely suitable. In such cases, shaft wells are used.

Mine wells are a shaft dug into the depths with a diameter of 30 cm to one and a half meters. Depending on the material used, during the construction of the mine, there are:

  • wooden;
  • brick;
  • stone;
  • concrete.

Depending on the depth of the mine itself, wells are divided into: shallow - 2-3 meters deep, medium - 4-9 meters and deep - more than 10 meters. A shaft well is usually a hand-dug shaft.

The choice of material for the manufacture of the well is carried out individually. But there are points that must be considered when choosing a material.

For a stone well, rubble stone, dolomite or granite can be used, the use of sandstone or limestone is not desirable. When using bricks when building a well shaft, make sure that it is well burned. The burnt ironstone brick has proven itself well - it is almost waterproof.

Portland cement must be used as a binder for the mortar to be laid. There are also increased requirements for the solution. To improve the quality, increase the strength characteristics, increase the water-repellent properties, it is recommended to use various additives and additives.

Very often, the walls of the mine are reinforced with reinforced concrete rings with a diameter of 0.8-1.2 m. Concrete concrete rings have a long service life - up to 50 years, they are easy to install and maintain. You can dig a well at any time of the year. It is not recommended to start digging a well during spring floods. During this period, the groundwater level rises, which can cause an incorrect choice of the depth of the well and, as a result, it dries up in the summer.

  • Abyssinian well is a well with a diameter of 25-75 mm and a depth of 10-15 meters. The flood of such a well belongs to the American Norton. The name has been attached to it since the 19th century from the name of the country of Abyssinia. It is a buried pipe with a conical tip at the end. The tip has a filter for water purification. For pipes with a small diameter - 25-35 mm and on light soil, driven work is carried out. For larger diameters, drilling is necessary to install the pipe. The main disadvantage of the Abyssinian well is the maximum depth of water rise, which is no more than 8 meters.

Raising water is carried out by a piston pump, manual or electric. The debit of the Abyssinian well practically does not depend on the diameter of the pipes used. It depends only on the thickness of the aquifer. The main advantage of using the Abyssinian well is the speed of its manufacture and the low cost of the materials used. A professional team of craftsmen will install such a well in a few hours.

Sewer, storm or drainage wells

The name "well" includes diverse structures with various technical purposes. Often, when we say "well", we mean only facilities for supplying water. Moreover, the main nodes of the sewerage system are also wells. They are intended for revisions of sewerage systems, as prefabricated and nodal wells - for several branches of the sewerage, differential - for changing the depth and speed of sewage.

Drainage wells are an indispensable element of the drainage system. It is installed in areas where there is a high rise in the level of groundwater - to a depth of 2-1.5 m, and to drain storm water. Drainage wells are used to inspect the system, collect water or remove it from the system - an absorption well.

An integral part of any drainage system are sewer wells, or chambers.

Their device is provided even at the entrance to the septic tank, located at their summer cottage. Therefore, no wonder - every day we see them under our feet. But does everyone know what is inside, and what are these structures for?

This article will tell you everything, or almost everything, about wells, both for those who have no idea about them, and for those who think they know a lot about them.

The equipment of any special facilities for control, repair, maintenance or functional needs is provided for by the requirements of SNiP 2.04.03-85 “Sewerage. External networks and facilities”, and is dictated by common sense.

Let's say there is a drainage pipe in which a blockage has occurred.

What can be done in the absence of a camera that allows you to identify the problem area and eliminate the trouble? The question is rhetorical.

Therefore, the standards describe in sufficient detail where, in what quantities, and which wells to install.

Part 1. Classification of wells

Each structure of this kind has its purpose and method. They can be classified according to several criteria.

There are the following types of sewer wells:

  1. On the network - wells can be arranged on any drainage networks:
    • Domestic and industrial drains
    • Drainage
    • Stormwater
  2. According to the material of manufacture:
    • Concrete
    • brick
    • Polymer
  3. By appointment:
    • Variable
    • Lookouts:
    • With change of flow direction:
      • Swivel
      • nodal
    • Straight-through:
      • Linear
      • Control
      • Flushing

Naturally, the most important characteristic is what functions the sewer well performs.

A drop well differs from a viewing well in that it is designed to change certain physical characteristics of the water flow.

Inspection chambers are designed to perform certain actions on the pipeline.

1. Manholes - tasks by type


Manholes must be installed under one of the following conditions:

  1. Changing the diameter or slope of the pipeline
  2. Change of flow direction
  3. When attaching side branches
  4. On straight sections, depending on the diameter of the pipe - after 35-300 m

The well itself is made in the form of a shaft with a chamber inside, where the incoming and outgoing pipelines are connected by a special tray.

Each of the wells of this type has its own purpose. However, in one structure, several tasks can be solved at once.


According to the device, all sewer manholes are of the same type, as a rule, the difference can occur only in the depth of occurrence.

All their parameters are quite strictly standardized.

For structures intended to change the direction of the flow of wastewater (nodal and rotary sewer well), the tray is made of a specific shape.

Its parameters are described by the SNiP mentioned above.

The main essence of the requirements is that the angle of rotation cannot be less than 90 °, and is performed with a smooth rounding, the radius of which is from 1 to 5 diameters of the incoming pipe.

The rotary sewer well is placed in those places where a change in the direction of the pipeline is provided, and the nodal ones are located where one or two branches are connected to the network.

The nodal well tray can be designed for no more than three incoming pipes, and one outgoing one.

A once-through well is most often linear, that is, located on long sections of the network without branches and turns.

It has a tray that exactly repeats the direction of movement of drains and is designed to check the condition of pipelines, and, if necessary, clean them.

It can also be installed in places where there is a slight change in the input-output level.

It can also be a direct-flow and control well, which is installed at the points of connection of the house or quarter network to the central highway.

But, since in such places a nodal structure is still needed - it is, as a rule, that combines these functions.

Important information!

As a rule, a direct-flow sewer well is arranged - it is installed in the initial sections of the networks, where the drains have not yet gained sufficient speed, and there is an increased likelihood of blockages.

As a rule, water is supplied here, and sometimes pumps are installed.

2. Types of overflow wells


The next type, differential sewer wells, are designed to change and adjust the flow of wastewater in height, as well as to change the speed of their movement - both up and down.

Therefore, the designs of these devices are very diverse.

Cases when it is necessary to arrange sewer overflow wells:

  • If you need to reduce the laying depth for the incoming pipeline
  • There is a risk that the stream will become too fast or slow, change speed dramatically
  • Highway crosses underground structures
  • The well is the last one before the discharge into the reservoir, and has a flooded outlet

Based on the variety of tasks, the internal arrangement of these structures also has many design solutions.

Drop types:

  • With practical profile and downstream water jet
  • Tubular, may have a different design, but always - based on a vertical pipe
  • Equipped with water and drain wall
  • Multi-stage, shaft type - dampen the flow rate as it follows the cascade
  • Fast currents - short sections of the pipeline with a large slope. Designed to accelerate the flow in areas where it is possible to slow it down.

A separate case is overflow sewer wells equipped with a water seal.

Their specificity is that here a change in the flow level is created in the opposite direction - it does not decrease, but rises.

This is achieved through a special chamber, where effluents are pre-accumulated.

A similar scheme is used in those sections of the network in which it is possible for ingress or production of explosive and flammable substances.

The water valve prevents the fire from spreading back in an emergency.

The installation of a differential well in the form of a fast current can also be used in an individual sewerage system, if there is no certainty that the flow volumes will be sufficient for self-cleaning of the pipeline.

Part 2. Well equipment

Everyone is familiar with the picture: an uncle with a grubby face sticking out of the hatch with a shifted lid, who is repairing something there.

And until now, if you ask any post-Soviet person what a sewage well is made of, in 99% of cases he will answer: “From concrete”.

And in most cases it will be right, since until now the bulk of these structures on the main pipelines of drainage systems are made in accordance with SNiP, from reinforced concrete rings, less often - cubes, or assembled from slabs.

Modern polymer systems, in many respects superior to their hard stone predecessors, are just beginning to enter the domestic market.

However, for all its shortcomings, the traditional ring, apparently, will remain a symbol of the sewer well for a long time to come.

1. Well made of reinforced concrete elements

SNiP, which regulates the creation of sewer networks, including wells for them, was written at a time when large structures made of polymers, and even high strength, were not yet thought of.

It was also carried out exclusively by the manual method - from where the uncles appeared in the hatches.

Their task was to push the cleaning wire towards the blockage while the assistants at the top rotated the other end of it.

In order for a person to go down inside and work, the following standards were provided: the minimum size of the well was allowed to be 700 mm.

Round slabs are also produced in the same size - the base and the ceiling with a hole for the hatch (Ø 700 mm).

As a result, a standard reinforced concrete well consists of the following elements:

  • Round or rectangular base
  • Rings
  • Cover with hatch hole
  • Manhole cover (cast iron, in recent times - it is polymer)

The round plan form was adopted as it optimally resists the pressure of the surrounding soil.


Since it is impossible to predict the place of use in advance, both rings and base plates are produced absolutely even, only with embedded parts (loops) for installation.

In the lower ring, during installation, it is necessary to punch holes at the entry points of pipelines, and on the slab, to arrange a tray of the appropriate shape from concrete or cement.

This design is used both in manholes of all types, and in differential ones - with a device corresponding to the type of structure.

At the same time, the height of the well is gained due to several rings - standard and additional. Before installing the next ring, you have to remove the mounting loops of the previous one.

In this case, all structural elements, including the base and ceiling, as well as the pipeline inlets, are sealed with cement.

It is clear that the waterproofing of sewer wells arranged in this way leaves much to be desired.

As a result: wastewater pollutes the ground, and groundwater contributes to the overflow of sewers.

2. Polymer wells

A completely different degree of freedom was given to designers of sewer networks by wells made of modern plastics.

The development of technology also had its say: modern mobile complexes can serve hundreds of meters of sewer pipelines without descending a person underground.

This made it possible to significantly reduce the size of products.

Where previously it was necessary to use meter-long, at least 70-centimeter rings, now you can install a compact plastic device up to Ø300 mm.

Polymer products are also distinguished by their low weight and the ability to clearly adjust the size to the needs of a particular highway.

Classification of plastic wells

By access:

  • Serviced (with personnel access, f from 1000 mm)
  • Without access (served from above, f less than 1000 mm)

According to the material of the mine:

  • Smooth single wall
  • Smooth double wall
  • Corrugated single wall
  • Corrugated double wall
  • Combined

A telescopic (retractable) design of a sewer well made of a smooth-walled pipe is possible, a corrugated pipe has this property by default.

Basically, polymer wells are made separately - the shaft pipe is completed with the necessary types of neck and tray part, where the corresponding piping is made.

But recently, trayless models have also appeared, in particular, those designed for direct-flow wells.

It should be noted that both inspection and overflow sewer wells are made of plastic, but in the latter case, more complex design solutions are used. Polymer products provide almost 100% waterproofing of the mine.