Environmentally-Friendly Backyards
Algreen Professional Pond Kit
$699.99
Your Yard is the First Line of Defence Against Pollution
Rain water often falls in yards, roads, and parking lots prior to enter the water table. This water can carry pollutants like fertilizers, pesticides, and petroleum into our rivers and lakes. Rain that falls into your yard should be allowed to soak into your yard. Reducing water run-off will help to protect waterways.
How can you reduce water run-off?
- If the roof of your home has rain gutters, make sure the downspouts are not aimed toward a paved surface. Turn downspouts into areas with plantings that will make better use of rainfall than letting it run down the driveway and into a storm drain.
- Use a rain barrel attached to the down spout of your eavestrough.
- Add a water garden to your yard. A water garden can serve as a final collection point for runoff.
Water gardens add a magical element to most all landscapes. The change of texture, variety of lighting conditions, sounds, smells, all add to our increased interest in the landscape. Selecting a water garden site is a decision involving many site factors, such as correct slope, soil types and water table, but also practical matters, such as septic tank and house foundation setbacks, utility easements and soil types. When planning, try to strike a balance between what your permit allows and what the landscape calls for. Learn more
A water garden combines all the benefits of a complete eco-system into one package:
- Aquatic plants which help consume greenhouse gases and convert them into useful oxygen.
- The aquatic plants help to filter water run-off water, before it re-enters the water table.
- A water garden is an attraction for local wildlife.
Green Tip:
Prevent Erosion by using plants that cover the entire ground surface. Erosion removes the top soil and can clog waterways with it.
Water gardens should always be located in the lowest points of a landscape. Constructing a pond at the midway of the drainage route can cause both downstream flooding and drainage effects. A water garden can serve as a final collection point for runoff after a series of swales and channels. Water-based pollutants can be filtered by vegetation, filter traps and the settling action in the pond itself. This can have a significant effect, improving water quality draining into larger water bodies. These systems also have the advantage of extending the "soak time" of storm water, or increasing the amount of water allowed to percolate, recharging the groundwater table directly.
