3 Pretty and Functional Ways to Deal With Storm Water Drainage
Stormwater drainage is something every homeowner needs to think about, especially if you have a lot of rain, flooding around your foundation or similar issues. There are lots of ways to handle drainage, but if you want it to look attractive, there are key ideas to consider. Take a look at these three pretty stormwater drainage ideas.
1. Rockbed
If you're just trying to deal with the random puddles that appear near your drainpipe, you may want to try a rockbed. This can be a small square of rocks, contained in a concrete frame that sits right at the opening of your drain pipe. The rocks allow the water to filter slowly into the ground, and the concrete helps to keep the water from splashing out of the area.
Alternatively, you may remove the bottom from a wooden barrel, plant the barrel into the ground, leaving some of the top edge exposed, and then, pour rocks into the barrel. When the drainpipe releases water, it goes into the barrel, runs through the rocks and slow absorbs into the ground.
2. Faux Riverbeds
If you have too much water for the above strategy to work, you may want to try a faux dry river bed. Basically, you dig a small trench that extends from your drain pipe to the storm drain (or wherever else you want the water to go). Then, you fill that trench with rocks so it looks like a river bed.
You can complete the look by putting in attractive plants and flowers alongside your river banks. When the water rushes through your drain pipe, it will journey through the riverbed and away from your property. When there's no water, the riverbed still looks attractive.
3. Buried French Drain
Don't want your stormdrane to be so visible? Then, it may be time to try a French drain. Basically, instead of putting in a river bed as described above, you bury a length of plastic pipe in the same space.
Ideally, you connect the plastic pipe to a grate that is near your drain pipe. The water goes into that grate, through the plastic piping and finally out an opening at the end of the pipe. Called a French drain, this setup offers a rather discreet way to deal with stormwater drainage. If you have a lot of stormwater to deal with, you may want your French drain to empty into a small pond. To keep the pond looking pretty when you don't have lots of rainfall, you may need to top it up with water.