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maneybabey.bsky.social
Arin (drain gang!)
@maneybabey.bsky.social
280 followers 290 following 89 posts
maney, babey!! • nb & queer 🏳️‍⚧️ (she/they) •
🐾 native Texan fauna 🐾 • bitten by @13problemcat.bsky.social 💙 • 🌿 environmental engineering grad student and water resources engineer (stormwater enthusiast) 🌊 • Mitski’s losing dog 🐕
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maneybabey.bsky.social
I'm a little late getting this posted, but while visiting my bf's family up in Oklahoma we managed to find a little park made from concrete pipe!!!!

incredibly fitting since we were out looking for stormwater features for me to take pics of lol
December 3, 2025 at 10:50 PM
maneybabey.bsky.social
Here's the turbine lights! (I couldn't post a video and photo in the same post 😭)
November 28, 2025 at 5:07 PM
maneybabey.bsky.social
AND because of how far it is from major light pollution sources, the site makes for some KILLER stargazing! And it's surrounded by wind turbine farms that all blink eerily in unison at night, which is also quite a sight to see
November 28, 2025 at 5:07 PM
maneybabey.bsky.social
Anyways, here's some more pictures from our time there, including views from the top of the dam and the structure where lake elevation and local precipitation are measured by the USACE!
November 28, 2025 at 5:07 PM
maneybabey.bsky.social
The brine lake was constructed as a portion of the RRCCP on the Wichita River and was meant to impound salty spring water pumped in from low-flow dam sites on the South/Middle Wichita R.

A separate dam, pump station, and lake were proposed for the North Wichita R. but were never constructed.
Plans for the Wichita River portion of the RRCCP, with Truscott Brine Lake and the contributing sites on the South/Middle Forks of the Wichita R. circled in pink. A side view of the low-flow dam on the South Fork of the Wichita River. The dam is an inflatable fabric bladder dam that is inflated during low flows to capture the saltier spring water (like shown in the picture), and deflated during high flows when the salt is more diluted. From here, the brine is pumped 22-miles to the brine lake. A set of water level markers can be seen on the bottom right of the photo, presumably to gage the stage of the river during flooding events.
November 28, 2025 at 5:07 PM
maneybabey.bsky.social
lately I've been reading pretty extensively about the Red River Chloride Control Project, and this week I got the chance to go visit the largest of the few features that were actually constructed: Truscott Brine Lake!
front entrance welcome sign for Truscott Brine Lake, with the US Army Corps of Engineers emblem and a sign indicating that the project was handled by the Tulsa District. my maney plush taking in the sights from a rock pile. Behind them is ~200' of brush before the shore of the lake, and in the distance the earthen embankment dam can be seen on the horizon some salt deposits along the shore of the brine lake, where highly saline lake water has evaporated to leave behind the salt view of the dam from the eastern end as the sun sets
November 28, 2025 at 5:07 PM
maneybabey.bsky.social
there were also a similar cast iron inlet type out there that didn't have any vanes to prevent debris from flowing in. they were much larger the other type and both seemed to have the same fracture above the curb-cut.

also another no dumping marker!!
November 25, 2025 at 5:55 PM
maneybabey.bsky.social
was up in Denton again this weekend to see a friend and spotted these funky little catch basins from Neenah Foundry!
top-down view of the rounded cast iron catch basin frame, with the front of the inlet flush with the curb cast iron catch basin frame from the front, showing the six openings. the cuts in the sidewalk seem to suggest the stormwater line runs parallel behind the curb front view of another cast iron catch basin frame, with the front of the inlet offset behind the curb and with much more leafy debris without the scour of flow running along the front of the inlet/along the gutter line
November 25, 2025 at 5:55 PM
maneybabey.bsky.social
earlier this week I got to attend some floodplain management trainings at the with Dallas Water Utilities, and while I was there I got a closeup look at Baker Pump Station! (which is actually three different pump stations, and is one of six PS along the main west/east levees of the Dallas Floodway)!
a view down along the concrete-lined sump area for the pump stations. the old Baker PS (red brick building) is in the front left, next to it is the new Baker PS (rectangular brown/white building) with the large bar rack screens to remove debris, and in the distance to the right is Baker 3 (white building with rounded roof and large discharge pipes) Old Baker PS, a red-brick house-like structure with the East Levee behind and to the left of it
November 20, 2025 at 2:22 PM
maneybabey.bsky.social
good maneing!!

it seems I forgot to post abt #maneymonday, kind of in the thick of it rn 😭

so here's wishing everyone a real tampin' tuesday instead!
November 18, 2025 at 1:48 PM
maneybabey.bsky.social
happy #maneymonday, y'all!!!!

pov: we're on a walk and there's a storm sewer cover I NEED to stop and look at (and maybe take a pic of 👀),,,
a photo of a maned wolf on a dirt path at night, staring down at an East Jordan Ironworks "dump no waste!" storm sewer cover photoshopped onto the path
November 11, 2025 at 4:16 AM
maneybabey.bsky.social
I got a little treat for going out and voting last night: some no-dumping inlet covers and ID markers!!

I've seen this type of cover used in a few different cities, but this is the first time I've found a custom no dumping marker with an inlet and receiving body ID!! super cool!!!
an East Jordan Iron Works "dump no waste!" storm drain inlet cover a custom "No Dumping Drains to Trinity (River)" marker in Grapevine,TX, with an inlet ID that indicates the receiving body (Denton Creek) and a phone number to report illegal dumping! visually appealing and informative!
November 5, 2025 at 4:49 PM
maneybabey.bsky.social
first #maneymonday of November!!

it's finally almost-kinda-sort of feeling like fall, the perfect time to stretch those legs and tamp about in the nearest grassy field!!
November 3, 2025 at 6:01 PM
maneybabey.bsky.social
and on the topic of railroad culverts, while we were in town we stumbled across a model railroad exhibit hall, and wouldn't you know they threw in a few drainage structures just for me! (and to prevent water from overtopping/washing out the RR of course)
a pipe culvert beneath a model RR track, just downstream from a small roadway bridge (only big enough for two cars) with resin to act as water a protruding concrete pipe in a gully running parallel to the RR track, likely a drainage outfall from an adjacent model town. I'm not seeing a lot of erosion protection in that dirt-bottom gully, so I figure it's only a matter of time until the gully undercuts the barrel or destabilizes the RR embankment lol another tiny culvert crossing beneath the RR tracks. this one seems to be in some sort of concrete-lined channel (though more like shotcrete-coated than a geometric channel), with resin water flowing around a few rocks
November 3, 2025 at 3:59 PM
maneybabey.bsky.social
downstream of the RR crossing, the water enters the rightmost of these three funky protruding CMP culverts that outfall to a pond

speaking of corrugated metal pipe, there were a TON of these 6-8" driveway culverts, which is cool bc it's not often you see CMPs that small in size!
three corrugated metal pipe culverts protruding from a stone wall into a pond. the larger (~42"?) two culverts on the left cross beneath a small street, while the smaller (~24"?) on the right comes from the concrete arch culvert beneath the RR one of many little 6-8" corrugated metal pipes serving as driveway culverts to drain the ditches along the sides of the road. it's not as common to see CMPs this small nowadays since precast concrete pipe is much more common/cost effective/resistant to corrosion, so it's neat to see it out in the wild!
November 3, 2025 at 3:59 PM
maneybabey.bsky.social
went up to the town of Whitewright for a fall festival this weekend and spotted a few silly culverts!!

most notably, we found a VERY old concrete arch culvert that seems to be from 1908 beneath a stretch of Dallas Garland & Northeastern RR track!
the upstream headwall of the concrete arch culvert, which appears to be dated 1908 a view of the inside of the culvert, showing a the upper rounded section, lower rectangular section (both of which look to be cast-in-place), and gravel-lined bottom. From my experience, culvert shapes like this aren't very common now that precast pipe/box culverts are so common downstream concrete headwall into a small gully, with the same 1908 marker on the upper right corner of the headwall.
November 3, 2025 at 3:59 PM
maneybabey.bsky.social
I've gotta say, Denton seems to have done a pretty decent job of incorporating stormwater BMPs alongside bike/pedestrian infrastructure, and is a great example of how complete streets and green infrastructure complement each other!!

btw here's the same street before and after the redesign:
October 28, 2025 at 2:14 AM
maneybabey.bsky.social
the curbcut itself seems to dissipate energy somewhat by making the water change directions/pass through the slits, which helps avoid eroding out soil in the rain garden AND helps collect debris in a nice little "forebay" that can easily be cleaned out (if they maintain them like they should lol)
October 28, 2025 at 2:14 AM
maneybabey.bsky.social
it seems they strategically placed curb cuts on gutter lines upstream of conventional grey infrastructure inlets (where ROW allowed) so that the GI can capture the runoff/forst pollutant flush from smaller events, and the typical inlets can cover the higher-intensity events!
October 28, 2025 at 2:14 AM
maneybabey.bsky.social
went up to Denton this weekend with some friends for the Halloween festivities (coffin racing and such)!

and spotted a few unusual inlets and some green stormwater infrastructure, I could spend all day stormwater spotting in Denton lol
view facing uphill from the finish line, at the top of the hill two coffin racers are waiting to race a curb-cut with baffles, likely to help trap debris and prevent it from flowing into the rain garden another Y/drop inlet, but this one's within a mulched rain garden/bioswale that lets stormwater seep into the ground before reaching the inlet (though I can't imagine the mulch won't just float into the inlet/storm system as well) a funky curb inlet spotted at the corner of a line of on-street parking. this one features two access lids (maybe there's two junctions inside?) and a metal plate across the top half of the inlet. I'm wondering if the plate is to get a more appropriate inlet throat to keep kids/critters from poking their heads down there, since the curb is exceptionally tall around the inlet and they likely can't thicken the top slab of the inlet to an appropriate throat width without making it too heavy and prone to failure? Who knows lol
October 27, 2025 at 10:10 PM
maneybabey.bsky.social
it's #maneymonday!!!

this is your reminder to stop and sniff the fruits (enjoy the little things) today :)
October 27, 2025 at 3:58 PM
maneybabey.bsky.social
last big find: seems like someone didn’t consider existing drainage utilities when putting in this little retaining wall around the Cotton Bowl 😭

this was the only spot I saw where they had to jut the wall inward to avoid covering over a curb inlet cover
~4’ tall concrete retaining wall surrounding the Cotton Bowl that covers half of an existing sidewalk, which has a 3’ curb inlet the wall shifts backward ~1’ for the width of the inlet cover (as to not block the cover from being opened)
October 17, 2025 at 3:56 PM
maneybabey.bsky.social
speaking of trench drains, Fair Park has a TON of little slot and trench drains scattered around (though quite a few of them have clogging issues or are partially paved over even)
two grate inlets along a walkway connected by a slot drain with wire mesh to help prevent clogging (featuring another one of those “no dumping” markers) trench drain hidden behind some barriers along the Esplanade Fountain one of many slot drains along the roads in Fair Park short trench drain in the middle of a sidewalk that seems to have been placed much more recently (with pavement that actually slopes towards the inlet!)
October 17, 2025 at 3:49 PM
maneybabey.bsky.social
I also saw a bunch of these “no dumping drains to creek” markers, but they were all in spanish (aside from “ City of Dallas Stormwater Management”)

though technically an arroyo is a liiiiittle different than a creek
scuffed and dirty “no dumping” marker on the previous combo inlet a much cleaner (and probably newer) marker next to a grate elsewhere in Fair Park
October 17, 2025 at 3:40 PM
maneybabey.bsky.social
I went to the state fair with some friends this weekend, here’s what I saw!!

to start, here’s a silly combo inlet using what appears to be trench drain grates/frames? definitely a custom job 😭
combination inlet along a road/walkway consisting of a standard 3’ curb inlet, with four 2’ trench drain grates custom-fitted to the edge of curb ‘CoDallas storm sewer’ inlet cover above the curb inlet, along with a “no dumping” marker side view of the inlet, showing exposed frame anchors inside the curb inlet
October 17, 2025 at 3:27 PM