Based upon where you are from, different countries have different terms for "storm drain".
Accordingly to Wikipedia, a storm drain is basically a tunnel that carry runoffs (rain) from urban areas. For a layman, it helps to think along the line of sewage system that functions beneath our cities.
In the US, this is actually typically referred to as "storm drain" or "storm sewer".
In the united kingdom, this is actually commonly known as "surface water drain" or "surface water sewer".
In Australia and New Zealand, it is commonly known as "stormwater drain".
And there it is, when you hear someone mentioning "storm drain", "storm sewer", "surface water drain","surface water sewer" and "stormwater drain", you now know they mean exactly the same thing.
Functions of storm drain include draining excess water (rain or storm water) and ground water from pavement, streets and carparks into rivers and streams to avoid flooding.
Although storm drains do a amazing job of draining excess water from the urban areas, the inlets are essentially openings where left uncovered could be trench drain grating to pedestrians. Left uncovered, rubbish will get into the storm drains and cause choking which may eventually trigger flooding.
To guarantee storm drains serve their purposes while minimizing the potential risks posed to pedestrians and to prevent choking of the drains, drain covers (gratings) are employed to cover the inlets (openings) of the storm drains to achieve two purposes.
At Jonite, we specialise in steel reinforced drain covers (gratings) which cover your storm drains while preserving the aesthetic aspects of the architecture around the drain covers.