DOWN With Downspouts!
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It rains a lot in Portland!To be more precise it rains an average of 37 inches every year. As we mentioned in anearlier post, storm-water and sewage both flow into the same system of pipesunderneath our city. Unfortunately, whenever there is a great deal of rain thepipes overflow and the excess (a mixture of storm-water and raw sewage) flowsinto our rivers, streams and groundwater.
The good news is that thereis something that every home-owner can do to preserve the integrity of our water resources. DISCONNECT YOUR DOWNSPOUT!
OK, first of all, what is adownspout? Well, the downspout is that thing that directs the water collectedby the gutters of your house or apartment into a pipe in the ground. InPortland that pipe usually leads to the sewer or a storm drain. Either way,disconnecting your downspout helps ease the demand on our system, mitigatingthe chance of an overflow during heavy rain.
Disconnecting your downspout issimple. You merely need to disconnect your downspout and redirect the waterinto a porous area that can safely absorb the water. Downspout elbows and extensions are available at any home improvement store as well assplash guards to prevent erosion of soil. But if you're planning to disconnectyour downspout you should consult the following links as there are certainprecautions that need to be taken. The water must be drained into a porous areaat least one-tenth the area of the roof. So if the roof is 500 square feet,the water must drain into an area of soil of at least 50 square feet.Precaution should be taken for safety, do not let the water run over concreteor other non-porous surfaces. Also, make sure that water is released at leastten feet from any retaining wall. For detailed instructions on how todisconnect your downspout and help keep our rivers clean please follow theselinks including a detailed instructional video by the Portland Bureau ofEnvironmental Services.
http://www.portlandonline.com/bes/index.cfm?a=322320&c=54309
http://www.marc.org/Environment/water/downspout.htm
http://www.jamesriverassociation.org/what-we-do/watershed-restoration/Downspout%20Disconnect.pdf
Image Sources:
http://www.marc.org/Environment/water/downspout.htm
http://www.portlandonline.com/bes/index.cfm?c=54651
http://www.doityourself.com/stry/how-to-make-a-downspout-diverter
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