Best Rock For Drainage Swale

Planting the swale with grasses legumes and shrubs will help accelerate establishment of a root mat that holds soil in place to prevent erosion catches and holds more water increases soil microbial activity and takes advantage of the minerals present in the rock.

Best rock for drainage swale.

He used granite rip rap which are small boulders used for edging in stream beds to prevent erosion and so on. Of course you don t have to turn your drainage project into a creek bed. While it may seem like these utilitarian trenches are completely unusable or impossible to landscape in an attractive way swales actually provide some great landscaping opportunities including some that are particularly well suited for drought prone areas. The water will flow into the rocks instead of being absorbed into the surrounding soil.

The rocks are used to allow for greater drawing of water from the source area where the water was pooling. For a bank slope of 1 1 5 v h the rock. The crushed rock is usually 1 to 2 inches approximately 2 5 to 5 cm in length and is used for a number of purposes including driveway installation building foundations and large drainage areas often found near industrial buildings. If puddles are the problem gravel could be the answer.

You can also use a french drain a gravel filled trench that may have a perforated pipe at the bottom. For example take at look at this drainage swale installed by a homeowner. How to landscape a drainage swale. A simple swale is an effective and subtle way to control surface water.

Then line it with gravel or stones and add interest with boulders a bridge or plantings. These same equations can be used to size rock placed on the banks of large drainage channels provided the bank slope does not exceed 1 2 v h. Gravel to control water accumulation. The crushed stone varieties of drainage gravel consist of shell gravel and crushed rock.

Sizing of rock used in lining of drainage channels table 1 provides the recommended design equations for sizing rock used in the lining of drainage channels. Intercept the water by using a swale a shallow ditch with gently sloping sides. In older landscapes a long shallow grass covered. Gravel is also a good option for a ditch such as crushed stone mechanically cut rocks and gravel cut in many sizes.

How to landscape drainage swales. Start by making a swale essentially a gentle shallow drainage ditch.