Let It Rain: Bioswales at Rosita Park Help Slow It, Spread It, Sink It

by Gary Hedden, GreenTown Volunteer
 
The recent storms have been handled with ease along Rosita Ave in Los Altos.

The newly rebuilt Rosita Park has a lot of impervious surface so storm water runoff was a big concern. With three tennis courts and a big parking lot, water could have surged down the street into the storm drain, carrying with it lawn chemicals, oil from cars, and other pollutants that harm our creeks and Bay and the wildlife in them.

But it didn’t.

Instead, curb cuts cleverly directed the water to infiltration areas filled with a special soil, slowing the flow and allowing the water to sink into the subsurface.

These planted areas that slow and help sink water are sometimes referred to as bioswales. Pipes buried 18 inches deep eventually carry excess water to the storm drain. Read more