Catch basins, also commonly referred to as sewer grates or inlets, play a critical role in managing stormwater and preventing localized flooding. Catch basins protect and preserve our streets, sidewalks, and properties as they trap debris before allowing water to flow back into our systems and the natural environment.
Pittsburgh Water is committed to replacing and maintaining our catch basins as efficiently as possible, and reports from Pittsburgh residents can actually play a big role in making that possible!
Why Do Catch Basins Need to Be Cleaned or Replaced?
Pittsburgh Water is responsible for roughly 22,700 catch basins throughout our service area. Given their placement and purpose, there are many factors that could cause a catch basin to need maintenance. Some examples include:
Heavy Traffic
The constant pressure of vehicles driving over or near catch basins can cause them to weaken, crack, or damage.
Freeze-Thaw Cycles
Rain can cause water to seep into the cracks around catch basins. When the temperatures drop, water freezes and causes cracks to expand. As the temperatures warm back up, the ice melts leaving damage from the cracks.
Debris Buildup
Excess trash, debris, leaves, and other objects can clog catch basins causing them to stop functioning properly.
Cleaning and Replacing Catch Basins
A Vactor Truck is used for cleaning out debris from clogged catch basins.
For cleaning, the catch basin’s grate is removed, and debris is cleaned using a Vactor truck, a specialized vacuum truck used in sewer cleaning and waste management. After cleaning, most catch basins perform as expected, but some may need to be replaced. The old basin is demolished, and a new basin is formed using concrete.
Pittsburgh Water crews and contractors have daily assignments to clean catch basins that are called into our internal dispatch team, reported via social media, and sometimes through the City’s 311 system. The maintenance and replacement work these teams are assigned helps to protect neighborhoods from flooding while keeping streets and sidewalks safe for drivers and pedestrians alike.
How Do Customers Help Us Do Our Work?
While our crews do take note of catch basins that require attention when cleaning or while out in the field working on other projects, we are not able to proactively monitor each and every one of the thousands of catch basins in our system. For this reason, we are grateful to our customers and everyday citizens for alerting us to any issues or concerns they may notice with our sewer and stormwater infrastructure, whether it’s a collapsed inlet, a clogged catch basin, or otherwise. By calling our Customer Service team or reaching out via our website or social media, you help us to log specific locations for repairs needed and add them to our list to be addressed!
What Affects the Timing of Repairs and Cleaning?
Budget
Limitations on the number of catch basins that can be replaced in a year is largely due to budget constraints. While balancing historic progress in lead service line replacements, water and sewer main projects, and major infrastructure investments related to our multi-year Water Reliability Plan, we're cognizant of finding ways to get as much work done as possible without passing on excessive financial burdens to our customers. In late 2022, Pittsburgh Water was awarded PENNVEST funding of $46 million for our 2023-2026 Catch Basin and Inlet Replacement Program. In 2023, 736 catch basins or inlets were replaced with a $12.4 million investment, compared to 232 catch basins or inlets in 2025 due to a $5.1 million investment. An additional request for $12.5 million will be submitted for the year 2027 contract.
Staffing
Staffing limitations can also impact how quickly crews are able to address catch basins across our service area. There are about 30 people on our sewer service team, and they do as much as possible to keep up with maintenance, but with tens of thousands of catch basins in our system, prioritization often comes into play.
Risk-Based Prioritization Process
Pittsburgh Water also enhanced our process for catch basin replacement. The process looks at probability of failure as well as the consequence of failure based on location. Catch basins that are at a higher risk of collapsing are replaced first. We also prioritize catch basins on busy roadways or in neighborhoods with larger or minority populations, such as schools, hospitals, and senior centers, to reduce the risk of collapse and improve safety.
Our Commitment to the Communities We Serve
We are appreciative of our customers who alert us to issues in their neighborhoods and communities. Catch basins are an integral part to our process of delivering clean, safe, reliable water while also reducing flood risks and strengthening stormwater management. If you see an issue with a catch basin, please let us know! We appreciate your patience as we work through our service area to ensure debris, trash, and pollution stay out of our waterways and infrastructure. Our focus on sewer maintenance is just another way Pittsburgh Water is committed to building a more resilient community for us all.
