When it rains, do you see puddles in your yard or rivers flowing past your foundation?
If yes, take heed. Uncontrolled water flow damages everything in its path. Water flowing towards your house damages your foundation. Strong currents and standing water kill grass and erode precious top soil.
There are three ways to prevent water damage and by implementing them, you can actually benefit from heavy rains:
- Redirect the flow
- Soak it in
- Save it for a non-rainy day
Redirect the flow
By sculpting your landscape with berms and/or swales, which are essentially small hills and valleys, you send the water where you want it and encourage drainage. This is a great solution for sloped properties.
For low lying areas, French drains run underground and redirect water into municipal drainage or a catch basin.
When water flows across your yard like stream, a dry river creek adds an attractive feature to your landscape while directing periodic downfalls off your property.
When water issues are severe, a regrading of your property might be advisable to best protect your home.
Soak it in
Instead of driving all rain water off your property, you can benefit your soil by letting it soak in.
A compacted lawn will not absorb water well. Aerate your lawn annually and top dress to maintain healthy, absorptive soil. A deep layer of mulch added to flower and tree beds also protects against flooding.
Hard surfaces like your roof and driveway are impermeable, which means rainwater falls off of them. By creating more pervious surfaces, rainwater is absorbed where it can safely recharge the groundwater supply. Consider patios made with pavers or a green roof on your storage shed.
And for low lying areas that always seems to flood, build a rain garden. Filled with plants that love a periodic drenching, a rain garden is a beautiful solution to an irritating problem.
Save it for a non-rainy day
With long, dry summers, it makes sense to save some of that rain water for a non-rainy day. Place a rain barrel at the end of a downspout and you can use saved water in your yard or garden.
