Start Upstream: Better Stormwater Management Practices

When we think about stormwater, we usually focus on where it ends up — because that’s where the effects are most visible. The lower you go, the more damage you tend to see: eroded slopes, silted drains, and stormwater carrying soil and sediment into places it doesn’t belong. But managing stormwater effectively starts at the top. By controlling both volume and velocity early on, we can reduce erosion, protect infrastructure, and give the landscape a chance to give something back.

What Is Stormwater Management, and Why Does It Matter?

Stormwater is created from large impervious surfaces, such as roadways, parking lots, driveways, and rooftops. It’s critical to keep this water away from foundations by using techniques like proper sloping and grading — and, in the case of roof runoff, piping gutter discharge safely away from the home or building. Once the foundation is protected, attention turns to the broader stormwater plan for the site. How we mitigate runoff across the property is key to protecting not only our own ground, but also neighboring sites, local streams, and even municipal infrastructure from added stress and sediment loads.

Where clay soils and coastal slopes meet, rainwater tends to move quickly, gathering speed and volume as it goes along. The further the water travels, the more force it carries — often leading to washouts, sediment buildup, and overloaded drainage systems.

Instead of trying to manage thousands of gallons of water once it collects at the bottom of a slope, we can slow it down earlier in its path, allowing more water to soak into the ground naturally, and recharging the soil before the excess stormwater ever becomes a problem.

Natural Approaches to Stormwater Management

To implement ecological ways to manage stormwater, we can use simple, natural strategies that work with the land — instead of against it. These localized systems help reduce the impact downstream and promote infiltration where the water first collects. Materials like coconut fiber rolls, mulch-filled fabric berms, and shallow basins planted with native vegetation can be used to capture and filter runoff in stages, giving it time to settle and absorb instead of rushing downhill. These systems don’t stop water completely, but they can slow it down just enough for the water to return gradually to the ground and recharge groundwater stores.

On the uphill side of each berm, a shallow, loosened depression can be formed to break up compacted soil, improving filtration. The exposed soil is then stabilized with coconut fabric and reinforced with native plantings, allowing water to filter through gradually, while maintaining slope integrity. These subtle, organic features — placed strategically — can slow runoff, support native vegetation, and reduce the strain on storm drains and detention ponds.

Rocks and stone features can be used to accent or dress these areas, but they’re largely impermeable. While rocks and stones can help redirect or deflect flow, they don’t do much to absorb or filter it. The real work happens in the organic material — the mulch, soil, and root systems — that allow water to slow down and find its way back into the ground. In other words, rocks may frame the design, but the living systems do the heavy lifting.

These areas can often be stabilized and improved with creative, environmentally responsible solutions that go beyond silt fences and riprap check dams. Using native wet-footed plants (like grasses, rushes, sedges, and even pitcher plants), along with native flowers that thrive in damp conditions, small functional rain gardens can be created that both manage water and enhance the beauty of the property. And by incorporating pollinator-friendly species that support butterflies, bees, and other beneficial insects, these systems can also help restore local habitats and biodiversity.

The Impacts of Proper Stormwater Management

From an inspection standpoint, I’ve seen plenty of homes where erosion and poorly managed runoff have caused long-term damage — especially around foundations, slopes, and driveways. But beyond inspections, I’ve also applied these same principles throughout my career in home building and residential development. Managing stormwater responsibly on new construction sites has always been an element of how I approach design and site planning. I’ve seen firsthand how these natural techniques — when used during grading and landscape layout — can protect the home, improve drainage performance, and blend beautifully into the finished landscape.

For larger scale or commercial applications, these same principles can be integrated with traditional stormwater infrastructure. Systems like detention ponds, underground storage tanks, or concrete vaults can still play an important role — capturing and slowly releasing large volumes over time — while upper-slope measures handle smaller, distributed flows naturally. It’s not an either-or approach. The best systems combine natural processes with engineered structures to minimize impact and maximize performance.

Stormwater Management as Living Landscape

Much of what I’ve learned about sustainable stormwater practices came from Diane Minick, founder of Stormwater Landscapes and a pioneer in natural, ecologically-based stormwater management in North Georgia. For more than two decades, Diane has championed the use of native plants, bio-infiltration, and low-impact design to solve erosion and runoff issues in ways that restore rather than disrupt the landscape. Her philosophy—working with the land’s contours, soils, and vegetation instead of against them—has influenced how I think about design, construction, and land stewardship. That approach played an important role in how our team approached The Dakota, an environmentally-conscious neighborhood in Auburn, Alabama, where we worked to preserve existing trees, follow natural drainage patterns, and integrate small-scale flow controls and native plantings into the overall site plan.

With the right design, stormwater management doesn’t have to be hidden—it can become a visible, living part of the landscape: functional, beautiful, and ecologically responsible.

Author’s Note:

Diane Minick’s work through Stormwater Landscapes represents a form of quiet innovation—one that has helped communities rethink how water, soil, and vegetation can coexist naturally. Her decades of experience have shown that effective stormwater design isn’t just about moving water away—it’s about slowing it down, filtering it, and giving it a chance to return to the earth cleanly and responsibly.

I’ve been fortunate to learn from Diane and to carry pieces of her philosophy into my own work in building and land development. Her teaching continues to remind me that when we manage stormwater thoughtfully, we’re not just protecting structures—we’re reconnecting with the natural systems that make those places possible, and rediscovering our responsibilities as stewards of our environment.