Landscaping

Landscape and Turf Management Practices

Whenever you perform landscaping or turf management work on a property, it is important to maintain stormwater management designs and to recognize the relationship of the property to the stormwater drainage network.

Never pour household chemicals, pesticides, oil, auto care products or paint into drainage systems. Remember, what is washed down these drains may wind up in your water supply.

  1. When landscaping properties, do not change the grading of slopes that drain into ditches, waterways, or lakes. The grading is based on state and local minimum requirements and was designed by a NC Registered Professional Engineer to meet water quantity and quality criteria. Offsite flooding and other problems could result from alterations to the drainage network.
  2. Maintain stormwater swales. Keep swales on the property “open” and free of piles of clippings, leaves, limbs, and other garden debris so that nothing impedes the flow of stormwater. Do not backfill and do not plant trees or shrubs in swales.
  3. Avoid parking vehicles in swales because this compacts soil and allows less runoff to soak into the ground.
  4. Allow stormwater to collect and pond. When water ponds in swales for 24 to 36 hours, the swales are functioning as designed. Water will eventually travel to a ditch or stream or percolate into the soil. Consult local officials about flooding only if water ponds so long that vegetation in the swale begins to die.
  5. Perform scheduled clean-outs of catch basins on the property to remove built-up sediment and other potential contaminants that impede drainage and affect water quality.
  6. Make sure that the property’s stormwater management infrastructure is maintained and that your local government’s rules and regulations are being followed throughout the neighborhood and community.
  7. Don’t use storm drains as waste receptacles. Do not blow leaves or other yard waste into a storm drain, ditch, or stream. Make sure that all debris (such as leaves, yard clippings, street trash, and animal waste) is removed from storm drain openings and does not come into contact with stormwater. Use a broom to sweep debris off of storm drains; using a hose will only wash more pollutants into the stormwater drainage network.

Additional Resources

This handy, printable brochure provides several easy ways to minimize stormwater pollution.

Text adapted from Broward County, Florida. http://www.sfwmd.gov/org/exo/broward/c11bmp/stormmgt.html