Dry Riverbeds & Landscaping
Landscaping with dry riverbeds (also called dry creek beds or dry stream beds) helps control water spillage from rain events, prevents washing out and erosion of valuable soil, and also functions as an aesthetic addition, visually guiding the eye of the viewer around the landscape. The rocky banks and river stone beds offer visual interest. Because of their size and effect on the overall structure of the landscape, they should be planned carefully in advance, if possible by a professional designer. Does this Spark an idea?
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Rainwater Control
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Dry riverbeds should help funnel excess water from a rain event away from the home and other nearby buildings. Water is caught from an overflow area, then guided downhill over the course of the dry riverbed. The surrounding landscape is often also graded (altered so that it slopes down) toward the edges so that rainwater seeps in through the rocky (or boulder-strewn) banks of the dry creek bed. Depending on land use and municipal restrictions, the rainwater is ultimately diverted to a storm sewage system or to a water course.
Erosion Control
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Guiding rainwater and irrigation water through a course of river stone and boulders helps keep valuable soil from washing off the property. The banks of the dry riverbed serve not only as soil filters, their rocks and boulders may also serve as embankments or very small retaining walls. This keeps soil at different grades (levels of land) in place, especially if the dry riverbed meanders over the landscape along the contours of the land.
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Aesthetics
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Designing dry riverbeds so they are both natural-looking and functional is key to incorporating them into a landscape. Penny Duchene-Carson of the Colorado State University Cooperative Extension recommends choosing rocks, river stone and boulders that are proportional to the surrounding landscape. The Washington State University Clark County Extension recommends incorporating plantings along the sides, bridges, stepping stones or even waterfalls if the change in grade allows for it.
Considerations
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Dry riverbeds can and should be multipurpose. Among their many uses, they're built in places that hold water for long periods, in areas too shady to support plant growth, along foundations to direct water flow during rain events and through gardens as dry-weather pathways.
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