A dewatering system for separating a stream of liquid from the items traveling therein. The dewatering system includes a primary grid which catches the stream of liquid from a flume or other device. The liquid stream, but not the solid items, passes through the primary grid and is caught by a baffle which smoothly redirects the liquid. The baffle is arranged with respect to the primary grid so that the surface of the stream flow through the grid is substantially tangential to a leading portion of the baffle.