Ways Your Landscaping Can Prevent Flooding

6/21/2019 (Permalink)

When it's storm season in Paris, TX, you may feel like you're fighting a losing battle against outside flooding. After all, if there is too much water for the surrounding area to hold it, flooding and the cost of mitigation services seem inevitable. There are specific landscape elements, however, that can reduce flooding around your home after a rain storm. Incorporating these elements into your design plan can keep water outside and away from your home.

Proper Drainage

The best way to prevent flooding is to redirect excess water to a place where it can be stored or useful. There are several ways to do this:

• Rain spouts directed to a garden bed and away from the house
• Swales that capture rain drainage and channel it into an area that thrives on large volumes of water
• Drainage ditches on either side of the driveway
• Rain garden that has a water reservoir for watering during drier times

Porous Surfaces A lot of outside flooding occurs because water hits impervious pavements and has nowhere to go. A non-porous surface pushes rain water away. This may be good for the state of the surface, but it can wreak havoc on your yard if you get a lot of rain. Porous surfaces allow rain to sink into them so that it doesn't run off into the street or municipal gutters. Heavy Mulch A difficult problem for most cities to solve is what to do with all the debris that washes into the drainage system after a rainstorm. You can do your part by replacing your light mulch that washes away easily with a heavier mulch. Light wood mulches, such as pine, may be less expensive, but they create more work for everyone in the long run. A heavier hardwood mulch is more likely to stay put. No matter how much rain you get, you can curb outside flooding a little bit by changing up your landscape design. Better drainage, porous surfaces and heavy mulch slow down how much flooding occurs. If you need any help with flood damage or suspect that you have damage please call us at 903-784-2700.