As I look across the street at the jungle that was once the sloping banks of the Ellerbe Creek, I wish that I could have looked into the future to see what the proposed 'stream restoration' was going to look like.
Promises of maintenance, benches for viewing the wetland, signage for education are all remembered but completely lacking.
As my post title suggests, you can make it your personal responsibility to contain the rain water that falls on your property or allow nature to take it's course and wash it all down hill to damage creeks, streams, rivers and lakes. If you choose the latter, the government will intervene to solve the problem and as in so many cases, you will end up with a solution that doesn't fit your neighborhood or add to your quality of life.
Right now no one would want to sit and gaze at the jumble of native wildflowers, grasses, shrubs and trees that completely block the view of the creek and poze a safety issue for those walking the paths around it. Low pockets in the constructed wetland areas hold water where mosquitoes breed. They are not constantly filled so that the possibility of having fish and other aquatic creatures to eat the mosquito larvae is nil.
But my rain garden takes it's 1300 gallons of rainwater with each one inch of rain that falls, filters it through the special soil my rain garden plants grow in and eventually allows it to percolate through the subsoil layers and return to the water table perfectly clean.
This problem is becoming more prevalent in many parts of the country as fast growing cities must supply their inhabitents with clean drinking water. If it hasn't happened yet in your area, wait and listen for the comments when drought ocurrs, reservoirs develop water quality problems and flooding becomes more widespread.
Like I said, it's your choice.
Monday, September 17, 2012
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)