Baltimore City Stormdrain Inspection

Client: City of Baltimore

Location: Baltimore, MD

Services: Water Resources Engineering, Programming, Geographic Information Systems, Structural Inspection, and Data Collection

Beneath the streets of Baltimore, a labyrinth of stormdrains-parts of which date from the mid -1800s- underlies the City. In 1992, the Baltimore City Department of Public Works initiated an aggressive investigation of the stormdrain system, selecting KCI Technologies to conduct a Facility Pilot Study. After the study, the City asked KCI to begin work on two follow-up inspection projects.

Using data collection, field inspection, and database entry procedures developed during the initial study, KCI inspected all City stormdrain systems with diameters of 36 inches or larger and created a database that stored and rated the physical condition of each stormdrain. The ratings will assist the City in planning its capital improvement program and identifying emergency repair requirements. During the investigation, KCI teams:

• Researched City office files to determine the location and characteristics, as well as the maintenance history of the stormdrains under investigation. Based on this data, teams created 1”=500’-scale mapping of the system and developed a database in which each stormdrain segment can be accessed using an identification number.
• Investigated 118 miles of stormdrain, inspecting 78 miles manually and 40 using television skid cameras. Inspectors also documented structural inadequacies using digital photography.
• Carried hand-held, mini-pen computers into the stormdrains and inputted observations directly into the database
• Acquired and analyzed water samples at outfalls and illicit connections for use in the City’s NPDES permitting process
• Developed a link between the 1”=500’-scale maps and the GIS database to ensure consistency and to identify combinations of unique physical stormdrain features. When a stormdrain was entered, this link automatically created a segment identification within the database and added the segment to the overall map.

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