{{Short description|Depression that runs parallel to a road and is designed to collect rainwater}} thumb|Shallow gutter typical of late 20th century North American low density suburbs thumb|Street gutter, with pedestrian gutter bridge for crossing, in Costa Rica A '''street gutter''' is a depression that runs parallel to a road and is designed to collect rainwater that flows along the street diverting it into a storm drain. A gutter alleviates water buildup on a street, allows pedestrians to pass without walking through puddles, and reduces the risk of hydroplaning by road vehicles. When a curbstone is present, a gutter may be formed by the convergence of the road surface and the vertical face of the sidewalk; otherwise, a dedicated gutter surface made of concrete may be present. Depending on local regulations, a gutter usually discharges, as a nonpoint pollution source in a storm drain whose final discharge falls into a detention pond (in order to remove some pollutants by sedimentation) or into a body of water. Street gutters are most often found in areas of a city which have high pedestrian traffic. In rural areas, gutters are seldom used and are frequently replaced by a borrow ditch.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/bitstream/handle/2152/6996/crwr_onlinereport05-2.pdf?sequence=2|title=Stormwater Quality Documentation of Roadside Shoulders Borrow Ditches|last1=Kearfott|first1=Pamela J.|last2=Barrett|first2=Michael E.|date=May 2005|website=Texas ScholarWorks|publisher=Center for Research in Water Resources, The University of Texas at Austin|access-date=12 March 2018|last3=Malina|first3=Joseph F. Jr.}}</ref>
When urban streets do not have sanitary sewers, street gutters are made deep enough to serve that purpose as well; responsibility for operation and maintenance of the dual-purpose street gutter was cooperatively shared between the local government and the inhabitants.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Jørgensen|first=Dolly|date=2008-08-13|title=Cooperative Sanitation: Managing Streets and Gutters in Late Medieval England and Scandinavia|journal=Technology and Culture|language=en|volume=49|issue=3|pages=547–567|doi=10.1353/tech.0.0047|pmid=18831288|s2cid=26332515 |issn=1097-3729|url=https://ltu.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:978279/FULLTEXT01}}</ref>
A now obsolete word meaning a street gutter is a kennel.
==See also== *Road debris *Street sweeper *Pervious concrete
==References== {{reflist}}
{{commons category|Street gutters}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Street Gutter}} Category:Road infrastructure