Road inlets and covers

Rationale

There are many different types of inlets, caps and covers installed in roads, cycleways, footpaths and other paved surfaces. The descriptions of these objects are scattered over different wiki pages, making it difficult for mappers to find the recommended tags for a certain object.

Going into the details one may note that for some objects the recommended tags do not match the nature of the object. This applies to the wiki recommended use of the tags man_made=manhole + manhole=drain for stormwater inlets, which are not designed for a human to enter and therefore are definitely no manholes.

This list shall provide an overview to all kinds of such objects, their tagging as documented in the wiki and suggestions for a more precise tagging if appropriate.

Suggestions

1. To improve data quality those inlets, which are not designed for humans to enter, should not be tagged as man_made=manhole + manhole=drain as this is some kind of troll tagging. It should be discussed if the inlet=* tag is sufficient as main tag for these objects or another main tag like man_made=inlet (used 54 times as per 2025/11) or man_made=storm_drain (used 218 times as per 2025/11) should be added.

2. The utility=* - tags are related to all of these objects and could be added to the basic valve tags (row 1 - 3). In case of the manholes they could replace the manhole=* - tags, as these are containing the very same information.

3. No tag has been documented yet for road covers serving military purposes as shown in the last 3 rows of the list. It is suggested to tag such objects as military=* due to their nature.

4. No tag has been documented yet for drainage gutters as described under "Related objects II: Drainage gutters" so far. This issue had been discussed in 2023 here: https://community.openstreetmap.org/t/tagging-of-a-steel-gutter-inlet/97424. The latest status was the suggestion to tag such gutters as waterway=drainage_gutter (65 times in use as per 2025/11). If there are no objections this could be documented in the wiki.

Related forum topics

1. https://community.openstreetmap.org/t/tagging-stormwater-drains-which-are-not-manholes/134954

2. https://community.openstreetmap.org/t/regenwasserablauf-schachtdeckel/136954

3. https://community.openstreetmap.org/t/gully-unterschiede-zwischen-englischer-und-deutscher-wiki-seite/97940

List of items

Image	Description / Comments	Actual basic tags	Suggested basic tags	Use of utility=*
	Road covers for pipeline valves
	An underground gas valve road cover set in asphalt.	pipeline=valve +substance=gas	pipeline=valve  + substance=gas	add utility=gas ?
	An underground water valve road cover set in asphalt.	pipeline=valve +substance=water	pipeline=valve  + substance=water	add utility=water ?
	An underground fire hydrant road cover set in paving stones. A underground fire hydrant is a pipeline valve as those above but nevertheless has a different established tagging as it is part of the "emergency" group of objects.	emergency=fire_hydrant +fire_hydrant:type=underground	emergency=fire_hydrant  + fire_hydrant:type=underground	add utility=hydrant ?
	Manholes
	A circular manhole cover without ventilation holes, giving access to a stormwater channel.	man_made=manhole +manhole=rainwater or +manhole=drain	man_made=manhole  + manhole=drain	replace manhole=drain by utility=drainage ?
	A circular manhole cover with decorative emblem and ventilation holes. Such covers are used for drainage channels, sometimes combined with sewerage. Although the holes allow very small quantities of surface water (stormwater) to enter the channel, the function of these holes is not drainage but ventilation of the channel to assure compensation of changing pressure. Definitely not an inlet und for sure not a grate.	man_made=manhole +manhole=drain +inlet=grate	man_made=manhole  + manhole=drain  remove:  inlet=grate	replace manhole=drain by utility=drainage ?
	A circular manhole cover giving acess to a sewage channel.	man_made=manhole +manhole=sewer	man_made=manhole  + manhole=sewer	replace manhole=sewer by utility=sewerage ?
	A rectangular manhole cover giving acess to power infrastructure.	man_made=manhole +manhole=power	man_made=manhole  + manhole=power	replace manhole=power by utility=power ?
	A circular manhole cover giving acess to communication infrastructure (UzTelecom).	man_made=manhole +manhole=telecom	man_made=manhole  + manhole=telecom	replace manhole=telecom by utility=telecom ?
	A rectangular double manhole cover giving acess to communication infrastructure (Tycom). Telecom manholes are often rectangular and quite large, made of concrete with steel frame and located in sidewalks.	man_made=manhole +manhole=telecom	man_made=manhole  + manhole=telecom	replace manhole=telecom by utility=telecom ?
	A rectangular manhole cover. No indication what kind of room is located beneath. In real life this would most likely be called a hatch but it serves the same purpose.	man_made=manhole	man_made=manhole	(kind of utility unknown)
	A circular manhole cover, serving as an inlet to the drainage channel at the same time. This type of road inlet is also designed for a human to enter the drainage channel and therefore qualifies for the tags manhole=drain and inlet=grate at the same time. A US model, uncommon in Europe.	man_made=manhole +manhole=drain +inlet=grate	man_made=manhole  + manhole=drain  + inlet=grate	replace manhole=drain by utility=drainage ?
	Road inlets / storm drains
	A rectangular slotted inlet grate, giving access to a sieve bucket installed beneath to prevent litter and leaves to wash into the drainage channel. This type is very common and usually installed in the road gutter close to the kerb. It is definitely not a manhole and there is no space below for a human to enter.	man_made=manhole +manhole=drain +inlet=grate	inlet=grate  +man_made=storm_drain? remove  man_made=manhole   manhole=drain	add utility=drainage ?
	A rectangular slotted inlet grate of approximately 30x30 cm. It is definitely not a manhole as it does not offer enough space for a human to enter. It can be opened to remove debris from the drainage channel.	man_made=manhole +manhole=drain +inlet=grate	inlet=grate  +man_made=storm_drain? remove  man_made=manhole   manhole=drain	add utility=drainage ?
	A rectangular slotted inlet grate of approximately 20x20 cm. It is definitely not a manhole as it does not offer enough space for a human to enter. It can be opened to remove debris from the drainage pipe.	man_made=manhole +manhole=drain +inlet=grate	inlet=grate  +man_made=storm_drain? remove  man_made=manhole   manhole=drain	add utility=drainage ?
	A kerb-located inlet, with a grate set into the kerb. It is definitely not a manhole as it does not offer enough space for a human to enter.	man_made=manhole +manhole=drain +inlet=kerb_grate	inlet=kerb_grate  +man_made=storm_drain? remove  man_made=manhole   manhole=drain	add utility=drainage ?
	A kerb-located inlet without grate, the opening angled at the street surface. It is very similar to the above described kerb grate, but due to the missing grate the wiki does not recomment to tag this type as man_made=manhole, so there is no need to suggest a better basic tagging here.	inlet=kerb_opening	inlet=kerb_opening	add utility=drainage ?
	Road covers for military infrastructure
	A road cover giving access to a blasting chamber, designed to be filled with explosives in case of a military attack. Most of such blasting chambers have been installed during the "cold war" with the purpose to destroy traffic ways (mainly roads, railways and bridges) being important for attacking troops. Many of them have been removed in the 1990s and lateron. See Wikipedia (german only). Use of a military=* tag instead of man_made=manhole is recommended due to the nature of this objects. Not a big issue as there are only few of these objects left.	no documented tags yet	military=manhole ?
	A blasting chamber in Switzerland. More a man_made=shaft than what is understood to be a man_made=manhole. Anyhow the use of a military=* tag is recommended for such objects.	no documented tags yet	military=manhole ?
	A row of road covers giving being called "Trägerstecksperre" in german. The openings are designed to be mounted with unremovable heavy steel girders to serve as tank traps on roads. The use of a military=* tag is recommended for these objects.	no documented tags yet	military=manhole ?

Related objects I: Other inlets, not installed in roads

Image	Actual basic tags	Description / Comments
	inlet=direct	A duct, pipeline or tunnel opening without any installation. Fluids (and debris) can enter directly downstream.
	inlet=screen	A duct, pipeline or tunnel opening fitted with a strainer or trash screen to avoid debris to enter.
	inlet=bell_mouth	An open horizontal inlet allowing fluid to enter from every side, often installed as overflow inlet for water reservoirs.
	no documented tags yet	An inlet in the shape of a small tower, commonly installed in ponds, called "Mönch" (monk) in german. It allows adjustment of water level at any height from the top of the structure down to the bottom - the latter for cleaning works or the like. No documented tagging yet. Suggestion: inlet=monk

Related objects II: Drainage gutters

Image	Suggested tags	Description / Comments
	waterway=drainage_gutter +covered=yes	A drainage gutter covered with a steel grate between a driveway and a warehause gate. Tagging of the gutter may be completed with physical attributes (material, width etc.)
	waterway=drainage_gutter +covered=no	An open drainage gutter alongside a staircase outdoors. Tagging of the gutter may be completed with physical attributes (material, width etc.)
	waterway=drainage_gutter +covered=yes	A drainage gutter covered with a steel grate integrated in a sidewalk. Tagging of the gutter may be completed with physical attributes (material, width etc.)
	waterway=drainage_gutter +covered=no	An uncovered drainage gutter (called slot gutter) for the drainage of an unpaved place. Tagging of the gutter may be completed with physical attributes (material, width etc.)
	waterway=drainage_gutter +covered=no	An uncovered narrow drainage gutter set diagonally to the road direction into the surface of a side road. The lower end of the gutter connects to an open ditch visible at the upper part of the photo. Tagging of the gutter may be completed with physical attributes (material, width etc.)