Drainage trenches, drain trenches in slopes

Drainage trenches are very useful in slope drainage, especially in the stabilisation of silty and clayey slopes.

If the drain trench follows the line of maximum slope, this decreases the water pressure in the slope, consequently increasing the safety coefficient.

Granular Laterlite Expanded Clay is used as a backfill in drain trenches in these cases to construct the upstream part of the trench, thanks to its low density that provides additional mechanical stabilisation by reducing the weight of the trench at a point where this might otherwise become a factor leading to landslide.

Unlike some artificial materials used for the same purpose, Laterlite Expanded Clay, being natural, allows and promotes the rapid reforestation of the trenches making the system more stable thanks to the presence of the root system of the vegetation, which can also be big trees.