Webinar: Diving into Safety Grates

Every year people drown after disappearing into storm drains during floods. Most of those lost are children and first responders. The most dangerous storm drains have been small pipe openings and culvert inlets with no safety grate covering the opening.

Mile High Flood District (MHFD) reviewed 40+ reports of injuries and deaths associated with culvert inlets to understand typical settings that can lead to injury. MHFD then partnered with Colorado State University’s Hydraulics Laboratory (CSU), AECOM, and Larimer County Dive Rescue Team (LCDRT) to conduct flume tests and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling to assess various culvert grate configurations and determine hydraulic conditions that impacted a person’s ability to self-rescue.

This study put first responders in a flume at the CSU Hydraulics Laboratory to evaluate maneuverability at various inlet types. CFD modeling expanded on results from the flume and informed recommendations for additional configurations and pipe sizes. This presentation will summarize key research outcomes and how the team translated those outcomes into practical design criteria that local governments and design engineers could implement at a broad scale.