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Environmental Regulatory
A grass channel (or ditch) is a broad, shallow area covered with turf or grass. Grass channels are typically located along the edge of a property, gently sloping toward the storm drain system. They are commonly found along roads, parking lots, or between residential properties.
A dry swale is a broad, shallow, channel with a series of check dams that is located along the length of a property and gently slopes toward the storm drain system. Dry swales are designed to provide temporary storage and allow water to soak into the ground through layers of special engineered soil mix and stone. They increase pollutant removal through filtration and infiltration.
Dry swales can be seeded with turf grass or other surface material (including large cobbles) or planted with more elaborate landscaping that includes tall meadow grasses or native plants and trees. They are designed to dry out between rain storms and typically hold water for up to six hours after a storm.
An infiltration trench is a small trench filled with stone that collects runoff from paved or impervious surfaces such as driveways or roofs and allows it to absorb into the underlying soil.
Rain gardens are shallow landscaped gardens designed to temporarily store and treat stormwater runoff from your roof, driveway, walkways and lawn. They consist of several layers: a gravel bed, a special engineered soil mix and sand, mulch, and planted with native grasses, flowers, shrubs, and sometimes small trees.
Bioswales are similar in the way rain gardens are designed with layers of vegetation, soil and also have a perforated pipe, or underdrain, in the gravel bed to assist n filtering storm water into the soil and storm drain system.
Permeable (or porous) pavement are surfaces made from porous material that allows stormwater to flow through it into the underlying stone and soil below instead of flowing off it. Permeable pavement may be made from porous asphalt, pervious concrete, or permeable interlocking pavers.
Rain barrels come in many different sizes, but a 55-gallon tank is the most common. Cisterns are tanks of 200-gallons or more. Water is captured from a surface, such as a roof, and conveyed to the rain barrel or cistern through pipes or gutters. This prevents stormwater from entering the storm drain system and can help with localized flooding. There is an overflow system that diverts excess rainwater when full.
The stored water is then available for non-potable use through a spigot or hose. Gravity facilitates the water in the tank being dispensed, so the barrel may be elevated on a stand or blocks to improve flow through a hose.
Stormwater ponds, or retention ponds, are permanent pools of water that collect and store stormwater runoff from roofs, roads, and parking lots. They reduce pollution and improve water quality by filtering the runoff before it enters our local waterways. They also control water quantity to reduce localized flooding.