Last spring, Westchester County had so much rain, I had thoughts of building an arc. Many of us were left with wet basements and garages, unwanted ponds and serious soil erosion.
Why is this happening now? It’s because of wetter weather, increased construction of bigger homes covering more ground; and removals of large trees that soak up groundwater. These factors combine to create a tipping point for frequent flooding.
Here are a 5 eco-friendly solutions to help your property absorb heavy rainfall and direct storm water runoff away from your home’s foundation. At The Lazy Gardener, we can work with you to create beautiful solutions to this growing problem.
1) Dry Creeks, also known as dry stream beds, are trenches filled with river rock and edged with boulders and water loving plants. We design a dry creek bed to look like a natural feature that integrates with your existing landscape while solving a problem. It’s similar to a French drain in that it fills with rainwater and directs the water to a desired drainage area, away from built structures. The plants can be flooded and then the creek drains in a day or less.
Rain Garden Design by The Lazy Gardener
Shade Rain Garden Design by The Lazy Gardener
2) Rain Gardens are landscaped beds that collect storm water runoff. By creating a bowl shaped drainage area planted with water loving wildflowers and native shrubs, the rain garden becomes a small pond after a heavy downpour. Surface water slowly filters into the soil instead of rushing into a storm drain. Rain gardens drain slowly over hours or days, allowing water to soak into the ground, filtering the water and refreshing our local aquifers. They drain before the 3-day incubation period for mosquito larvae.
This filtering protects streams and ponds from pollutants found in runoff such as fertilizers, salt and pesticides. These, as well as auto and construction pollutants are increasingly found in our water.
And where bedrock prevents using underground storage tanks, we have successfully created rain gardens that capture all the water from a client’s downspouts, saving many thousands of dollars for having to chip out rock for water storage tanks.
Rain gardens also provide much needed habitat for pollinators and other wildlife.
Photo by Scooter133
3) French Drains redirect surface water away from areas that experience flooding. They’re also used behind retaining walls to minimize groundwater pressure, preserving the strength and viability of the wall. French drains are trenches filled with gravel and a 4” or 6” perforated pipe. They capture and carry surface water away from foundations, directing the water to a catch basin. Catch basins can be rigid plastic holding tanks buried away from the house, which drain slowly into the ground, or a simple gravel trench, depending on the severity of the flooding.
French drains can be covered with landscape fabric and soil, then seeded, so the trench is hidden underground.
Photo by Arlington County
4) Rain Barrels capture excess rainfall to water your gardens. According to Westchestergov.com, one inch of rain falling on a thousand square feet of roof equals 623 gallons of water. Why not capture this and use the chlorine-free rainwater for your vegetable garden?
Photo by Catherine Wachs
5) Saving Trees. New development, major expansion of homes and driveways often leads to the removal of mature trees. When planning construction and renovation, it’s best to make every effort to include the trees rather than cut them down. Mature trees drink hundreds of gallons of water per day. Their absence exacerbates flooding and ponding issues. See our pre-construction primer of how to prepare your property for major construction.
In severe flooding cases, you will need a licensed engineer to create a solution.
Managing stormwater is absolutely essential to resiliency in the wake of increased flooding. Give us a call to see how we can help you.