Summer yard work and flood control?

With all the rain we’ve received in Valley Ranch during the past several weeks, you might expect WaterWays to cover how much water moved through our system, the staff hours and the electricity it took to transfer rain from sidewalks, parking lots and streets out to the Elm Fork of the Trinity.

While certainly more than interesting to our team and, perhaps, to some members of the community who are weather and engineering wonks, what may be a more valuable topic is to think about outcomes of all this rain. Simply put, it can be summed up in two words. Yard. Waste.

When the ground became firm enough to get out the lawn mower or call the yard service, the first thing many of us noticed was just how much the grass had grown since the last time it was cut. For those of us who handle our own lawns, the immediate next step was to raise the height of the cut… and be resolved that the next cutting would be needed sooner rather than later to restore the lawn to the desired length.

What’s important is where yard maintenance intersects with flood control. In an era where more of us than ever are sensitive to the overall environment, we often view grass clippings as natural material to be removed. If put out for trash pickup, they clog landfills. When blown into the street, the next rain or other source of street-bound water will carry the clippings into the storm sewer and, ultimately, into our flood control system. There, the clippings add to silt in sumps, ponds and other IFCD 3 water assets. This lessens the system’s water holding or carrying capacity and increases dredging costs. Discharge into the IFCD 3 system also can change the chemical composition of our waters, encouraging growth of algae.

How can these challenges be avoided? Taking a few simple steps can make a world of difference:

• Don’t put clippings out for waste removal. Instead, allow them to naturally return to the turf during mowing.
• Cut your lawn areas in a loop, starting around the outside boundaries and keeping the discharge from your mower pointed inward – this creates the smallest sized clippings, further facilitating absorption of nutrients back into the soil to further feed your lawn.
• Blow any clippings or dirt that may land on patios, sidewalks or driveways back onto the lawn, not into the street.

Grass clippings are rich in the fertilizer originally spread onto the grass, so returning the clippings to the turf helps gain the greatest value from feeding your lawn. Visit the City of Irving yard care page for additional information on these and other best practices.

Remember, you can get up-to-date information on a range of IFCD 3 news and activities through our growing library of WaterWays blogs and IFCD 3’s social media channels – including Facebook and Twitter. Got a question or topic of interest for WaterWays? Let us know!