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Alleviates flooding |
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Protects property |
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The Wildwood Drainage Correction Project was completed at the request of several homeowners in Southwest Topeka. The homeowners had experienced yard and basement flooding following a two-inch rainstorm and asked the city for help. WPC Drainage Correction Projects like Wildwood are projects that generally cost less than $500,000, affect three or more property owners, and require the owners provide free drainage easements as needed.
The mitigation of flooding between property owners was accomplished through the combination of check dams, an under drain system and the replacement of tight clay soil with looser, more pervious soil. The check dams were installed to slow the water down once collected in the drainage easement. The contractor then dug a trench removing clay soil below the check dams and installed perforated pipe wrapped in filter fabric over washed gravel. The trench was then backfilled with more pervious soil. The combination of the under drain system and more porous or loamy soil, along with the planting of grass and shrubs, is increasing the infiltration of rainwater into the ground and the stormsewer as opposed to having it flow overland, which could contribute to wet basements and a flooded yard.
Note: Although fescue sod was used for this project, the installation of fescue does not function as well as native grasses in the uptake of water. This is due to the short root system of turf grasses like fescue (1/2"-3") as opposed to that of native grass (upwards of 12" deep).
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