what is a swale?

Question

the city I live in has said they are going to put in a stone swale in the easement in my backyard. What do they mean?

Answer 1

I think you will enjoy all of definitions on the link below..........
Definition of swale/Daves Garden
http://davesgarden.com/terms/go/900/
................
a low-lying or depressed and often wet stretch of land;
http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/swale
Sometimes it's filled with stone like a dry creek bed.

Answer 2

A swale is created to force water to flow from one area to another. The shape and form is similar to a ditch, channel or stream. The sides are higher and the middle lower. This allows the water to flow into the center. But if it were left like that, the water would just sit there. So the water has to flow from a higher end of the swale to a lower one.

If you took an envelope, made a dip in it lengthwise, and then tilted the entire envelope it would be similar to a swale.

Swales are normally grass, but they can be stone also. I would guess that the easement area is not grass, but natural growth.
Therefore a grass swale would not make sense. A stone one would be easier to create.

At any rate, your easement probably is in a drainage pattern and they want to keep the water flowing, not sitting on your property.

Swales can be wide or narrow, but they should have a minimum pitch of 1/4" per foot. This is measured at the bottom of the swale. If the swale is 100 feet long, the elevation at the beginning would be 2 feet higher than the elevation at the end.
The main idea, is that water is flowing through your property by way of the stone swale.

Answer 3

Like previously mentioned, a swale is a drainage ditch lined with stone that allows water to seep into the ground. In cities, water is often channeled into fast flowing drainages that simply carry water away. This can lead to problems downstream of cities, where water that might have otherwise been absorbed into the soil, is instead forced into streams that flow beyond capacity during storms and cause flooding. A swale allows water to seep into the ground, becoming part of the water table. The water table is the level at which water lies under the surface of the soil. In dry areas, swales can help replenish ground water. The water is filtered as it moves slowly through the soil under the rocks and often becomes drinking water again if it joins an aqueduct (underground river). All in all it is a cool thing to be part of if you don't mind a ditch lined with rocks.

Answer 4

Swales are ditches. They tend to be wider and shallower than normal ditches. They are used to direct surface drainage.

Answer 5

Drainage areas designed not to "look" like a ditch.

Very gradually sloped so as to carry water in the desired direction without drastically affecting the landscape.