LAWN CARE, LANDSCAPING AND GARDENING

CONTOURING, TERRACING AND INFILTRATION DEVICES

Consider contouring, terracing, and infiltration devices in areas where stormwater runoff is a problem. Rainwater that is captured, spread, and allowed to infiltrate the soil slowly loses its erosive force. It is important to watch where you direct the runoff so it does not become a neighbor's problem.

  • Use a swale and berm system to slow down runoff or to move excess water from one area to another less-used area that allows seepage into the ground. Swales are low depressions that collect water. Berms are ridges bordering the swales which direct into and through them.
  • Where natural contours exist or may be created, channel rainwater across the slope instead of down, allowing the soil to absorb more water and decreasing sensitivity to drought.
  • Install a gravel-lined detention basin to hold runoff and filter it through the soil over a longer time. Be aware of limiting conditions which can lead to saturation, poor drainage, and standing surface water including compacted soil, clay hardpan, a short depth (1 to 2 feet) to bedrock or a seasonally high water table, and a great volume of runoff from a large land area.
  • Use a series of terraces or runoff spreaders to promote gradual absorption over a wider area by distributing runoff in a fan pattern across a vegetated terrain.
  • A subsurface drainage system may be the answer to extreme drainage problems that you can't correct by using a swale and berm system or contouring.
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