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Plant Trees & Conserve Trees

Trees provide incredible and cost effective flood-mitigating benefits including absorbing, deflecting and purifying stormwater. Trees also offer many other benefits such as providing shade to manage extreme heat and lower utility bills.

Learn more about how to plant trees.

Learn more about green infrastructure and how it can make Charleston more resilient.

Capture Rainwater in Rain Barrels & Rain Gardens

Rain barrels and rain gardens catch rainwater which would otherwise flow into drainage infrastructure and over dirty streets. These approaches work in concert with nature to collect and filter runoff, mitigate flooding, and minimize pollution while helping to save money and energy too.

Rain Barrel Benefits
When rainwater can collected and harnessed on site at the source (where it falls), the community gains lots of benefits such as:

• Increased water quality
• Overall less quantity of water overburdening any undersized drainage infrastructure
• Reduced runoff

Pairing the Two
A rain garden is a landscaped depression full of water-loving plants that absorbs excess rainwater. Rain gardens pair well with rainwater cisterns, also called rain barrels. 

Rain barrels are typically installed to store rainwater from a rooftop surface, reducing the amount of rainwater that may otherwise directly enter stormwater drainage inlets. Rain gardens can be designed so rain barrel overflow (once it's full) is directed to the rain garden. Rain captured in the cistern can be reused, such as irrigating plants during a dry spell.

Learn more about rain barrels and rain gardens for both professional and residential audiences and view a Guide to Rain Gardens in SC (PDF).

Learn more about green infrastructure and how it can make Charleston more resilient.

Maintain a Clean & Litter Free Yard

Wind and rain move debris, yard waste and litter easily to drains and waterways. Keeping these items from getting into the streets and storm drains protects water quality and prevents drains from clogging, which helps our crews be more efficient.

Stormwater (rainwater runoff) empties directly into our waterways and is not treated like wastewater is. One way you can help protect water quality and prevent clogged drains is by maintaining a clean, litter free yard.

Limit Use of Impervious Material

Look for opportunities to use pervious materials where practical and maintain them. Capturing even small amounts of rain water and slowing the speed of runoff helps prevent drainage systems from becoming overwhelmed during heavy downpours.

Permeable Pavements
Permeable pavements aim to infiltrate, treat, and store rain where it falls. Permeable pavements include a variety of product types, such as: 

• Cast on site reinforced concrete systems with large voids
• Permeable pavers (interlocking or non)
• Pervious concrete
• Plastic systems
• Porous asphalt
• Pre-cast blocks

The sizes of voids where water passes through varies based on the product, some are large and can be filled with small stones or even soil and grass, while some are much too small to fill and instead require maintenance to prevent sediments from settling and clogging the system.

Best Management Practice
Pervious paving is a best management practice that could be particularly cost effective where flooding is a problem. While areas with high water tables are not as effective as those with lower water tables, it is still feasible as we are learning the Dutch have had success implementing pervious paving even in locations with high water tables.

Learn more about permeable pavement systems.

Learn more about green infrastructure and how it can make Charleston more resilient.