Drainage success. And healthy results.

We installed a french drain on an Orinda residential landscape in Oct-09. The clients had previously experienced up to 12" of standing water in the lowest part of the landscape during rain storms.

We are experiencing a winter storm that dropped 1.18" of rain in the past 12 hours. I visited the site to check on the effectiveness of the drains; there was no standing water and I walked across the landscape with a solid base of soil under my boot - no mud. Stunning contrast to that of 18 months ago.

The successful strategy? French drains that direct water to the back of the property where is slowly percolates into a hillside. However, the most important strategy deployed at this site was healing of the soil porosity! Four cubic yards of CCL Organics Soil Builder compost + 200+ lbs of organic soil amendments applied to main planting beds and 50 lbs greensand (residues of ancient oceans) and wood chips (not bark) = SUCCESS. And happy clients (the best part).

Photo of the water flow not far away from this site - an example of how much water has percolated into the soil (supporting the abundance of life around it):

Keep loving the soil.

Jae

Deluge of water? Not a problem, when Permaculture methods are deployed.

Permaculture is a design science that renews natural resources and enriches local ecosystems. Through our work at Ethos, we seek to implement landscape solutions under the practice of Permaculture.

The Ethos crew completed installation of a French drain on a property; our intent was to relocate the water and yet keep it on the property. This practice not only ensures the health of the ecosystem of the site, it prevents additional flow into the storm drains, thereby retaining nutrients on the land.

Water would previously collect at this site in the front yard, creating a pond for many months of the year. I designed the drain to move this source back along the fenceline, then into a percolating drain where it now waters a hillside with mighty redwoods towering above.

The drain runs parallel to the left of the waddle shown below (I installed the waddle as a precaution before the storm).

NB this image is "before"

We experienced a huge storm over the past two days - 4.7" with a high rain rate of 2.4"/hour. Suffice it write - tons of water in a short time. I am pleased to report the drain not only moved the water as we intended, the percolating area remained intact with no land loss and the front yard - previously a pond in this situation - was solid and as I walked over it, next to the drain, my boot sank only about 1/4". Very exciting, to a soil geek such as me.

Now, onto the design for this marvelous space.

Update Oct-10: we have completed the site. Quite a transformation. The image to the right is taken from the same vantage point at the "before" above.

Healing and laughter,

Jae