Sustainable, Creative and Beautiful Stormwater Solutions

Stormwater drainage swales can be Eco-friendly and beautiful. 

Stormwater Swales can add stunning vertical green to the Urban Core

Much of the time they are just mowed weedy areas devoid of vegetation.  However, here is a very successful example of a stormwater swale in sandy soil with mature vegetation planted along the sides and even in the basin.

Trees observed include: Atlantic red cedar, Juniperus virginiana; live oak, Quercus virginiana and long leaf pine, Pinus palustris.

Notice the guard rail to the south of the swale to keep traffic from hitting the trees.  This swale is located at the western end of the bridge on Highway 100 crossing the Intercoastal Water Way heading east into Flagler Beach, Florida.

Kudos to the forward thinking designers!

Awesome Stormwater Drainage Filtration (Plants of Course!)

Though native species would have been better than grasses, I am still awarding the designer of the below stormwater collection system an A+ for common sense.

Grass filters stormwater before entering collection system

Grasses planted around the stormwater drain grate will effectively filter out most pollutants, sequestering many in their biomass, before the runoff enters the collection system and heads to our lakes and rivers.

If this application were used worldwide for stormwater then we'd be taking a dramatic step towards clean water.

Kudos to the unknown designer!