Stormwater and drainage
Where rain goes when it leaves your roof and yard, and what the county requires. 4 items.
Stormwater and drainageWhen you need a county permit to change drainageIn unincorporated Sonoma County, a drainage permit is required before any drainage improvement. Grading over 50 cubic yards needs a grading permit.
Stormwater and drainageSink it or shed it? When to keep rain on your land and when to drain itMost properties need both. Sink clean water where the soil can take it and nothing will be harmed. Shed water, slowly and safely, where soaking it in would threaten a foundation, a slope, a septic system or a neighbor. The craft is deciding which water goes where.
Stormwater and drainageSwales: what they do, how to build one, and when not toA swale is a shallow ditch that slows rainwater. Dug level across a slope, it holds water so it soaks in. Built with a gentle fall, it carries water away slowly. Both work only in the right place, and both need a planned overflow. Start by watching your slope in the next storm.