How To Landscape to Protect Your Local Water Resources

Everyday water runoff can affect your yard and local water resources. This summer why not implement some strategies to create a beautiful yard while also implementing green practices that will protect your local water resources? There are some changes you can make to your landscaping and gardening practices that will allow for natural filtration of water before it goes into the storm drain or makes its way to your local water resources.

Sweep Lawn Clippings Back Into Your Yard

 

Use Rain Barrels

Install Permeable Pavement

Implement a Swale

Implement a Rain Garden

Plant Native Plants

By sweeping lawn clippings back into your yard you will ensure that the clippings do not get into the storm drain, and you will be adding nutrients back into your lawn.

 

Rain barrels collect water to be used again, this ensures that rainwater doesn’t wash away nutrients in the soil or wash chemicals from your driveway into the storm drains.

 
 

Next time you need to repave your driveway or add a new section, consider using permeable pavement. This pavement allows water to soak into the ground and to be naturally filtered instead of washing chemicals and debris across concreate into the storm drain and out into your local water resources.

 

A swale is a channel that follows along the bottom of a slope that moves storm water in a different direction. A swale can be filled with stone and plants that allow for some of the storm water to be absorbed and filtered throughout the natural environment as the water moves to another location. This is a great alternative to water being directed down the street collecting chemicals and oils before it is deposited in the storm drain that flows directly to local water resources.

 

A Rain Garden is a destination for water that flows through a swale to go. A rain garden is a place filled with plants and a soil mixture that allows for the excess water to be absorbed or drained quickly. This will allow for the water to be filtered and deposited naturally back into the ecosystem.

 

Native Plants are acclimated to the local environment so they can be able to live on less water, fight local pests, and support the local ecosystem better than other non-native plants. By using native plants, you will have beautiful plants that will thrive in their natural environment will a lot less maintenance.

 

On steep hills native plants will stabilize the soil and will limit the nutrients washed away because the root structure will be able to handle that local environments impacts.

 

Native plants with deep complex root structures can absorb and filter runoff before it enters the water resource. As well as protect the shoreline from erosion.

 
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