DRAINAGE

Drainage is defined as a temporary or permanent lowering of the groundwater level in soils. To this day, however, even if the word drainage has a unique definition, it is used to define techniques and methodologies that are very different in their purpose.

On the basis of a lithological classification, the following are distinguished:

1) DRAINAGE IN THE ROCK;

2) DRAINAGE IN LOOSE SOILS.

While the former exploit sophisticated and complex techniques to eliminate waters and potential risk factors in large engineering works and in the exploitation of mineral deposits, the latter use more common techniques with multiple purposes.

Drains in loose soils can be divided into:

• geotechnical drainages: influence on groundwater to increase soil resistance (consolidation) and stability (landslides, landslides, etc.);
• agricultural drainages: influence on groundwater to reclaim land and make it suitable for agriculture;
• permanent drainages: collection of water by gravity with special drainage networks underneath buildings and road works;
• temporary drainages: temporary influence on the aquifers for the construction of artifacts and engineering works that require excavations below the level of outcrop of the aquifers.