This is a hypothetical question, so that I'm prepared if it happens again.
Sometime ago someone dropped a ball that was almost the same size of the storm drain pipe (10cm/4in) in it. By luck it rolled out without a problem. But if the pipe was dirt or had sand/soil in it the ball would probably be stuck.
How can I solve prevent that?
The pipe section that troubles me is about 20 meters long and has 2 short 45° turns and 2 long 90° turns (the first 90° is vertical, the rest is horizontal).
Best Answer
Depending on the location you could install a 4 inch or suitable size floor grate to prevent large items from entering the pipe. You could also fabricate something out of coarse screen, which in some locales is called "hardware cloth". Removing any obstructions will depend on whether you have access to only the entrance or also the exit. If you are clearing normal silt, sand, etc a power drain snake should work. If you are clearing a solid obstruction like a ball, you could try a large shop vac with a long length of hose attached. Swimming pool hose is fairly rigid, is flexible, comes in long lengths and more reasonably priced than regular vacuum hose. If both ends are exposed you could try blowing the ball out with a leaf blower from the exit end.