Updated on June 11,
Minnesota has moved from drought to flooding. The drought was a problem, but now can we manage all this heavy rain? We have been trained to get this water away from our houses and off our land, but does flushing all this water down the storm drain help our yards and gardens? Some of the rain is absorbed, but most of this rain rushes into our storm sewers washing winter salt, and chemicals from our houses and yards into our lakes and streams. What can we do to slow water down and keep more water working to water our gardens and yards? How can we keep our lakes and rivers clean?
You don’t want this water in your basement so it needs to be diverted 10 feet away from your foundation as you manage this water, and try to keep it from gushing down the street and alleys
A few things you can do to improve water quality:
1. Redirect downspouts onto your lawn.
2. Plant native grasses and deep rooted plants to absorb water
3. Use less winter salt and less lawn chemicals.
4. Learn about rain gardens and find out if one is possible in your yard. http://bluethumb.org/raingardens/
5. Keep sidewalks, driveways and streets free of leaves and debris.
6. Let your turf-lawn grow longer (3 inches)
7. Install a rain barrel to capture rain, and use this for watering plants.
Health4earth 