Dirtwork term
Headwall
also called: culvert headwall, endwall
Concrete or rock structure at the inlet or outlet of a culvert that retains the embankment and directs flow.
A headwall is the wall built around the open end of a culvert pipe. The structural purpose is to hold the embankment from sloughing into the pipe. The hydraulic purpose is to direct flow into and out of the culvert cleanly, without scouring the surrounding soil.
Material options: poured concrete (most durable, used on county and commercial work), stacked stone (residential, lakefront), pre-cast concrete (commercial, fast install). Riprap apron at the outlet handles the energy as water exits.
Without a headwall, the soil around the pipe ends washes out over a few storms, the pipe sags, water finds new paths around it, and the whole culvert eventually fails. With one, the system lasts decades.
Hiring this done?
Headwall comes up on drainage jobs all over East Texas.
If you're reading up because a project is coming, we'll walk your site and show you exactly how this applies to your dirt. Free estimate, no obligation.
When you need it
When headwall comes up on a job
A headwall goes in when a culvert or pipe end needs holding in place and its opening needs protecting from erosion. On a driveway or ditch crossing, the ground around an unsupported pipe scours out over time and undercuts it.
Related terms
Other words that come up alongside this one
Culvert
Pipe or box buried under a road, driveway, or fill that lets water pass from one side to the other.
Riprap
Loose stone placed on a slope or shoreline to absorb wave or storm energy and prevent erosion.
Swale
A shallow, vegetated ditch shaped to carry surface water away from a structure or down a property line.
Geotextile
Woven or non-woven synthetic fabric that lets water through but holds soil back.
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