Maintaining ditches prevents flooding

Before this year's clean up

We've been experiencing a great deal of flooding in our communities the last few years.  There are probably many contributing factors but one of them has to be the methods used by subdivision developers to drain water from their neighborhoods.  They dig trenches and put in culverts that drain all rain water directly into the creeks.  It worked fine during the dry years but now we are in a wet cycle and funneling water that used to be absorbed into the natural contours and abundant plant life, directly into creeks that were never intended to carry that kind of water load, isn't working.

After the clean up

About six years ago, the ditches bordering my backyard had become so clogged with debris and overgrown with privet and wild blackberry that they were no longer draining our neighborhood.  Several of my neighbors were trying to figure out how they could re-contour their property so it wouldn't flood.  I knew immediately that the real problem was the ditches and proposed that we clean them out.

Debris pile, waiting for pick up

"We" became one of my good friends with a chain saw and our two daughters.  It took the four of us the better part of an entire day to clear that ditch.  But the benefit of all that work would quickly vanish if the ditch wasn't maintained on a regular basis. 

Once a year, I take a day to go through the ditch, pulling privet, tree saplings, vines, and anything with thorns.  The first couple of years, that was just about all that grew there, but now, with time, there are mosses, ferns, wildflowers and grasses taking root in that ditch.  Those helpful plants slow the flow of the water and give it a chance to absorb into the soil.  They also prevent erosion. 

If you have a ditch near your home, it is in your best interest to maintain it.  If this isn't a project you want to undertake, at least help by using your ditch wisely.  Do not dump branches, leaves, or grass clippings in it.  Do not use it as a trash dump (this year I removed old rusted tomato cages, a plastic gas can and leftover construction stuff). 

My ditch isn't pretty, but our neighborhood now drains nicely without flooding or eroding our backyards.