Depending on the medical circumstances, reduced pressure may be used for, among other things, reduced-pressure therapy to encourage granulation at a tissue site, draining fluids at a tissue site, closing a wound, reducing edema, promoting perfusion, and fluid management. Common dressings, systems, and methods may be susceptible to leaks and blockage that can cause a reduction in the effectiveness of the therapy or a complete loss of therapy. Such a situation can occur, for example, if the amount of fluid in the dressing or system exceeds the fluid capacity of the dressing or system. Thus, improvements to dressings, systems, and methods that may enhance the management of fluid extracted from a tissue site for increasing the reliability and the useable life of the dressing and system are desirable.