TL;DR
A catch basin is a buried drainage box with a grate on top and outlet pipe near its rim, set at a low point of a yard, driveway, or patio to collect surface runoff and feed it into underground drain lines. The box's depth below the outlet forms a sump that traps sediment, leaves, and debris so they settle instead of clogging the pipe downstream, which is also why the basin needs seasonal shovel-outs.
What it means
A catch basin is a buried drainage box with a grate on top and outlet pipe near its rim, set at a low point of a yard, driveway, or patio to collect surface runoff and feed it into underground drain lines. The box's depth below the outlet forms a sump that traps sediment, leaves, and debris so they settle instead of clogging the pipe downstream, which is also why the basin needs seasonal shovel-outs. Residential sizes run 9 to 24 inches square in plastic or concrete, often paired with French drains or routed to daylight, dry wells, or storm sewers where allowed. Standing water around the grate signals a full sump or a blocked outlet line.
Where it sits in the glossary
Catch basin is part of the Trade jargon group inside the ProFix Directory glossary. Browse every term in this category from the glossary index.
Why Ohio homeowners should know it
This is a term Ohio homeowners encounter when reading contractor quotes, hiring paperwork, or inspection reports. Understanding it well enough to ask one good follow-up question is usually all the protection a homeowner needs.
ProFix Directory keeps definitions short on the index page and saves the longer context — Ohio-specific rules, where the term comes from, and which ProFix tools touch it — for these per-term pages so the term is easy to cite and easy to share.
ProFix tools that touch this term
See also
License: CC-BY-4.0 — quote freely with attribution to ProFix Editorial Team / ProFix Directory.