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Stormwater is an issue!! Too much rain at one time means run-off!! Just look down the street and note the rapidly diminishing amount of surface area that can even absorb water. Parking lots, roofs of homes, industrial and business roofs occupy more of the soil surface each year. None of these are designed to absorb water. The result is apparent. Much of our rain water quickly runs into the storm sewer or across the yard and into the natural drainage system. A new awareness of the impact of stormwater is here. A new awareness to the effects of water run-off from our property is here. A new sense of responsibility in managing rain water is here. The word of the day is “Stormwater management”. If this kind of thinking isn’t in your mind, I urge you to research the topic and begin to use the term. How you decide to manage stormwater run-off does affect everyone around us. Each of us has an important part to play in keeping good rain from going bad.

Management implies using common sense of reducing the quantity of run-off by slowing down the speed of run-off, along with a concern for the quality of the stormwater downstream. Think how many less flooded intersections we would see after a rainstorm if we could slow down water run-off to where it took up to 24 hours to drain the city, or your yard? What is the quality of the rain water once it reaches the pond downstream?

Rain water or snow melt flows across surfaces picking up pollutants and depositing them in streams, ponds, rivers and lakes. An overload of pollutants reduces water quality locally and downstream. We have changed the natural hydrology cycle with our increased run-off and by reducing areas of water infiltration. Stormwater quantity is the problem. Stormwater quality is the problem. It matters downstream, after the rainwater washes the pollutants along the way.

Run-off pollution (non-point source pollution) is considered to be one of the leading causes of water pollution today. Non-point source pollution means there is no one place where the water is coming from, rather a collection of water from many places. Common run-off pollutants are sediment (soil), nutrients (fertilizers), acids, salts and heavy metals, toxic chemicals, and pathogens (pet and livestock wastes). When water flow freely, the sediments usually carry the other pollutants. We can make a difference in how this water runs off, and the quality of the water running off our property.

There is much for the gardener to learn in this shifting paradigm. Over-engineered and over-connected landscapes have not focused on stormwater management. The shift requires a growing application of green design and management, and enhanced environmental sensitivity. We need more eyes and skills minding the urban landscape. Simply put, “catch the rain, slow it down, and help reap the benefits”. We can design landscapes and planted areas to manage and treat stormwater naturally, rather than directing it off the property as quickly as possible. University of Nebraska Extension staff have identified roles and opportunities for each of us to become a “greenscape professional” beginning in our own yard.

A University of Nebraska “Stormwater Management” series of publications is available on the web to help us understand what researchers have been telling us for years. While many of these practices may seem out of reach for our own yard, they are worth mentioning to help us think greenscape thoughts. Lawns and landscapes can be a source of pollution, but a well-designed and properly managed landscape minimizes pollution potential and provides many benefits. An example of where to begin is where water gathers. Direct your downspouts away from paved areas and back to your yard. Think about running rainwater onto relatively flat or slightly sunken lawn areas, grassy swales, landscape beds or rain gardens. Think about a “treatment train” where each step slows and cleanses water run-off, such as using ornamental grasses and select forbs where rainwater must drain through before reaching the curb. Using good conservation practices such as avoiding soil compaction slows down the rate of run-off. Applying lawn fertilizer at recommended times and at recommended rates reduces the likelihood of adding pollution to the run-off water.

There are several ‘value added’ features to controlling run-off. Think green (sustainable) landscape design. Control water erosion, even during a yard establishment or make-over. Use water-efficient irrigation design and management. Management here may mean taking control over your underground sprinkler, only watering when needed, not just because the sprinkler is set to run. Install water run-off retention/detention (including rain gardens). Several businesses have installed vegetated eco-roofs. Porous landscape material is now available. Apply fertilizers based on a soil test. Utilize rain barrels. Plant rain garden material.

Many of our yards can benefit from implementing several of the practices listed above. It will be worth your time to check the web for the Stormwater Management series. Just type www.ianrpubs.unl.edu/. Another quick way to get reference material is simply type in Stormwater Management and scroll down the many articles until you find unl.edu as the source of information. This implies the article originated at the University of Nebraska, a land-grant institution, as non-bias researched information. There is enough information available, that, if applied, could result in significantly reducing Stormwater run-off.

About the author: Don Siffring

Don Siffring is a 6 year Master Gardener with the University of Nebraska Extension in Adams County. He is a professor emeritus with the University of NE, Institute of Agriculture. Don works part-time as a Horticulture Aide with UNL Extension in Adams County. Don and his wife, Bev, retired to the Hastings Community in in 2003 to be closer to their married daughter and husband, Christi and Brian Berns of Bladen.