Dry Riverbeds
Dry riverbeds designed by Ecoscapes of Santa Fe combine form and function to beautify your landscape and channel water runoff for water conservation. Our team designs and builds swales and berms, dry streambeds, pumice wicks, mulch, and infiltration basins to passively capture and hold water on site.
What is a dry riverbed and why should you consider creating one in your yard? A dry creek bed, also known as a dry creekbed, is a gully or trench, usually lined with stones and edged with plants to mimic a natural riparian area. You may decide to implement dry stream beds for drainage, thus preventing erosion by reducing runoff. Or you may simply like the way it looks!
Dry streams are a great solution wherever there is a need for on-site rainwater drainage. They can be placed at the base of a slope, in a low spot that puddles occasionally, or up a small rise to intercept rainwater as it flows downhill. Rather than changing the path water takes, dry creek beds use the same path. Since dry streams are a small-scale version of a real-life landscape feature, they look wonderful in naturalistic gardens.
Passive water harvesting first requires careful observation of the flow of water across and through the landscape, including water runoff from nearby buildings, slopes and waterways. Observation is followed by thoughtful design and construction of a system that slows stormwater. Slowing the speed of the water allows rainwater to seep into the roots of trees, shrubs, and other vegetation, as well as replenishing the aquifer.
EcoScapes is flexible and works to install our own or client-provided designs, as well as collaborate with other designers on larger projects. The various elements of our work are executed as a cohesive unit.
Select Photos Courtesy of Kate Russell Photography