Minimizing Runoff and Erosion on your waterfront property

Runoff is water from precipitation, rain or melting snow, that flows across the surface of the land. It composes a fraction of the total volume of precipitation that lands on the ground; the remainder seeps into the ground through the soil or evaporates back into the atmosphere with the help of the sun and vegetation. Infiltration is the process by which water from precipitation percolates into the ground through the soil, eventually entering the groundwater aquifer and in some cases our lakes and streams.

Runoff, often called stormwater runoff when used to refer to the unnaturally large volumes of runoff we create by paving roads and driveways and building structures such as our homes and other buildings, can cause flooding, erosion, water pollution, and property damage, and it can ultimately cause the loss of fish and wildlife habitat and reduced water quality in our lakes and streams.

Erosion is caused when soil particles are dislodged by water falling on or running across bare soil or vegetated areas that are unable to handle the force of the flowing water. Erosion problems can be made worse by the increased volumes of stormwater runoff generated by the impervious (non-porous) surfaces we create, such as rooftops, decks, driveways, and paved walkways. In addition to the damage erosion can cause to property, eroded soil particles (sediments) can also cause problems when they run off into lakes and streams. For instance, these sediments can clog fish spawning beds, hurting reproduction, and they can bury mussels or wetland plants, eventually killing them.

Additionally, eroded soil particles, whether they are from farm fields or our lawns, often contain nutrients from fertilizers, and they can contain toxic chemicals, such as pesticides we have applied to the land and oil and anti-freeze from our cars. Erosion can thus lead to property damage, loss of fish and wildlife habitat, and reduced water quality and clarity in our lakes and streams.

Waterfront properties, due to their close proximity and direct connection to surface water bodies, can play an especially important role both in the creation of harmful stormwater runoff and erosion and in the control and reduction of both.    What can waterfront property owners do?

Enjoying your waterfront property in an environmentally friendly way does not require you to leave it entirely undeveloped. Rather, by considering the best way to design the development on your property given the special characteristics of the site, by limiting as much as possible the area covered by impervious surfaces, by managing stormwater runoff to minimize its impacts, and by relying on Mother Nature’s ability to mitigate some of the potential impacts of runoff and erosion naturally, you can develop your waterfront property in a way that won’t harm the lake or stream that brought you there in the first place. All of these things can be considered both in the context of new development on a previously undeveloped waterfront lot and in cases where waterfront property has already been developed or even redeveloped.

4 key steps in minimizing runoff and erosion on your waterfront property:

•  Site design – development that is appropriate for the landscape on the site
•  Limiting impervious surfaces – stormwater runoff prevention at the source
•  Stormwater management – treating stormwater runoff to minimize impacts
•  Vegetated buffers – a little protection free of charge from Mother Nature