Look on the bright side of this dark weather. If you haven’t gotten around to observing how water flows on your property, and if you haven't noticed whether your yard soaks up or spurns falling rain, you still have an opportunity to check it out.
Now’s the time to recharge our groundwater so that the earth can do its slow-release thing throughout the (presumably) dry summer months. Groundwater keeps creeks flowing long after rain stops flowing. Dependable stream flow is important to tiny creatures that live in the water and larger wildlife that also rely on creeks. We interrupt this flow when we cover up most of the ground with impervious rooftops, roads and parking lots, and send rain far away in storm drains without it ever getting a taste of our native soil.
Consider removing some of the impervious surfaces on your property. Can you replace them with permeable pavement? Aim your downspouts toward the ground and not onto one of those impervious surfaces. Or set up a rain barrel to catch the water before it flows away. Did you know that a 1,000-square-foot roof can collect around 600 gallons for every inch of rain that lands on it?
Creek Peek for Kids
Seattle receives about 36 inches of precipitation in a year. Do you think it would take more than one rain barrel to collect the rain from your roof? Let’s do the math! To learn how many gallons a 1,000-square-foot Seattle roof would collect in one year, multiply 600 gallons by 36 inches:
600 gallons x 36 inches = 21,600 gallons/year
Wow! Most of that water used to soak into soil and recharge the groundwater.
Is your home larger or smaller than 1,000 square feet? To find out, multiply your home’s length and width, plus a little extra for your eaves.
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