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Watch the water
during a storm
One of the most valuable things you can do up front is also the easiest: make careful observations and notes of what happens on your road and property during and after a rainstorm. Pay close attention to where the ground gets soggy or temporarily ponded; where the water from your roof goes; where the muddy runoff forms; and what happens to the creeks near your house. Use landscaping to
your advantage
The next important step is to limit runoff. Having rainwater absorbed into the ground provides many benefits. It helps fill your well; it can prevent potentially damaging torrents from racing down your road or driveway; it can keep wetness out of your basement and away from your foundation. It will also hold your lawn and field chemicals where you want them - on the vegetation, and not somewhere down the Thornton River, off to join all kinds of other chemicals in the Chesapeake Bay. Here are several ways to improve your control of runoff from your yard or property:
• Avoid having areas of bare soil. Plant grass or other ground covers; put straw or chip mulch over newly-seeded areas;
• Mow your grass higher and less frequently, and utilize shrubs, trees and flowers, particularly on hillsides (but not on top of septic drainfields, which must be kept clear of water-loving shrubs or trees). This will save you time and effort, and will help the water soak into the ground.
• Arrange for downspouts and for roof runoff to drain into vegetated areas rather than flowing down roads or driveways or into storm drains.
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