How often do you think about the water that runs off your roof? Have you ever considered creating a rain collection system for stormwater? During a storm, the ground can become oversaturated, and water runs directly to the streams. What we want to happen is for all the water to enter into the soil. Soil naturally filters so it can return clean water to the watershed. One way to decrease runoff is a rain barrel. By setting one of these up to your downspout, you can redirect some of the water to a barrel. You can then use the water for gardening or return it to the soil on a dry day.

 Another system that helps is a rain garden. This is an aesthetically pleasing approach that can be as elaborate as you like. The principle is to lead the drainage water from the downspout to a garden that can help the soil absorb and filter the water. As an example of a more complicated garden, you can create a small basin and designate rings of soil to plant in. The innermost layer contains plants that need the most water and the outer plants need the least. 

Both of these methods are tried and true and can help make a small improvement to our water supply. If they sound interesting, there are many online resources that go over different approaches to these projects.