I am trying to solve a drainage problem with a dry creek bed. I have included a picture. Is it working correctly, do I need to make it wider, or deeper?
Is this picture from during or after the storm? It doesn’t appear to be sloped enough for the water to drain away fully.
The_Poster_Nutbag
It appears to be conveying water, so that’s ideal.
Hard to say more without knowing what the original issue looked like. As long as the water is contained within the rock bed and it’s not eroding out that’s all you can hope for.
WriterAndReEditor
There are several possibilities.
1. If there are no actual **issues** resulting from the water, then all that matters is whether the aesthetic appeals to you.
2. If you have a problem with algae or mosquitoes, you need to know how it looks after about five days (long enough for eggs to start hatching.
3. if you have a problem with water contacting something it shouldn’t (a foundation or fence/deck support post, again you want to know what the area looks like after a few days post-rain and whether the soil touching the object of concern is damp enough to encourage rapid rotting.
xpiation
Doesn’t look very dry to me *slaps knee*
DorShow
I would think that bit near the top of the photo could be made a bit wider or deeper. All in all it looks like it’s doing well… was this rain especially heavy, or average?
If only average it may need further adjustments, but expand those areas where it looks to have overflowed and keep monitoring for further adjustments
bracekyle
I think your answer is probably yes. The goals of a dry creekbed I usually to capture water during rainy times, convert them at water elsewhere, and allow the water to drain down into the ground, yes? If it seems to be doing these things, you’re doing well.
I would suggest two things:
1) fill in around and in the creekbed with native plants for your region that like wet feet. Think of it as 2-3 regions – some plants go right in the deepest part, these are plants that can be mostly submerged (in my area, I’d be looking at buttonbush and swamp poppy mallow, or example). Then a ring of plants along the edge, where they may have wet feet when rainy but otherwise just moist – in my region, I’d be looking at great lobelia, cardinal flower, and swam milkweed. Then a ring/zone of plants along the very top of your dry creekbed that just like moist soil but don’t want to be submerged at all (in my area, I might be looking for coper iris, southern blue flag iris, strawberry bush, perhaps some ferns, and maybe palm sedge). These plants will serve multiple purposes: they beautify, they drink up water, and they open up the earth, allowing water to more quickly drain down into the soil.
2) complete your creekbed directionally – where does it go, or where do you intend it to go? Be careful about local ordinance so you aren’t dumping a bunch of water so where you should be (like a neighbor’s). In my city/county/state, I can direct this water into an existing waterway or into the street, but not to a neighbor’s property.
Looks cool! If I had me whole yard to landscape over again, I’d direct all my downspouts into a rain garden system that cuts through my whole yard. Someday, when I own a backhoe…..
6 Comments
Is this picture from during or after the storm? It doesn’t appear to be sloped enough for the water to drain away fully.
It appears to be conveying water, so that’s ideal.
Hard to say more without knowing what the original issue looked like. As long as the water is contained within the rock bed and it’s not eroding out that’s all you can hope for.
There are several possibilities.
1. If there are no actual **issues** resulting from the water, then all that matters is whether the aesthetic appeals to you.
2. If you have a problem with algae or mosquitoes, you need to know how it looks after about five days (long enough for eggs to start hatching.
3. if you have a problem with water contacting something it shouldn’t (a foundation or fence/deck support post, again you want to know what the area looks like after a few days post-rain and whether the soil touching the object of concern is damp enough to encourage rapid rotting.
Doesn’t look very dry to me *slaps knee*
I would think that bit near the top of the photo could be made a bit wider or deeper. All in all it looks like it’s doing well… was this rain especially heavy, or average?
If only average it may need further adjustments, but expand those areas where it looks to have overflowed and keep monitoring for further adjustments
I think your answer is probably yes. The goals of a dry creekbed I usually to capture water during rainy times, convert them at water elsewhere, and allow the water to drain down into the ground, yes? If it seems to be doing these things, you’re doing well.
I would suggest two things:
1) fill in around and in the creekbed with native plants for your region that like wet feet. Think of it as 2-3 regions – some plants go right in the deepest part, these are plants that can be mostly submerged (in my area, I’d be looking at buttonbush and swamp poppy mallow, or example). Then a ring of plants along the edge, where they may have wet feet when rainy but otherwise just moist – in my region, I’d be looking at great lobelia, cardinal flower, and swam milkweed. Then a ring/zone of plants along the very top of your dry creekbed that just like moist soil but don’t want to be submerged at all (in my area, I might be looking for coper iris, southern blue flag iris, strawberry bush, perhaps some ferns, and maybe palm sedge). These plants will serve multiple purposes: they beautify, they drink up water, and they open up the earth, allowing water to more quickly drain down into the soil.
2) complete your creekbed directionally – where does it go, or where do you intend it to go? Be careful about local ordinance so you aren’t dumping a bunch of water so where you should be (like a neighbor’s). In my city/county/state, I can direct this water into an existing waterway or into the street, but not to a neighbor’s property.
Looks cool! If I had me whole yard to landscape over again, I’d direct all my downspouts into a rain garden system that cuts through my whole yard. Someday, when I own a backhoe…..