Glossary

Absorb: When water absorbs into the ground, it is also known as infiltrating or permeating. That water replenishes the groundwater in the area, which is good for nearby plants, and many people rely on it for drinking water.

Aggressive Plant: A plant that spreads rapidly, often outcompeting others in the area. Aggressive plants will drastically reduce the biodiversity in an area leading to a loss of good habitat. Both native and invasive plants can be aggressive. Therefore, it is important to monitor for aggressive plants and control their spread.

Conservation Landscape: A group of native plants that are planted to help the environment and provide ecosystem services. The maintenance of a conservation landscape is done in an eco-friendly way. Click here to learn more.

Directly Connected Rain Barrel: A downspout runs from a gutter directly to a rain barrel. The water flows from the downspout into the rain barrel through a mesh that keeps debris and mosquitos out. In winter when the rain barrel must be removed to prevent freezing, the downspout ends in midair.

Diverter Rain Barrel: A diverter inserted into a downspout directs water from the downspout to a rain barrel. In the winter when the barrel is removed, the hole for the diverter can be plugged.

Ecosystem Services: The benefits that a healthy ecosystem provides. Filtering air and water, conserving soil, and preventing erosion are examples of ecosystem services.

French Drain: A trench lined with landscaping fabric and filled with gravel designed to direct stormwater. French drains sometimes have a pipe with holes that let water out.

Imperious Surface: A surface that does not allow water to pass through it, like concrete or asphalt. This creates stormwater runoff.

Invasive Plant: A plant that is not native to a region and has characteristics that allow it to spread rapidly. These plants can outcompete native plants and cause ecological harm to an ecosystem.

Native Plant: There are multiple definitions of a native plant. For the purpose of this website, a native plant is a plant that has been in an area for hundreds or thousands of years and has adapted with other native plants. Native plants and animals have developed relationships over time that are important to their survival and the health of an ecosystem.

Non-native Plant: A plant that was brought to an area, often for food, medicine, or as a decoration. These plants have not adapted alongside native plants and do not have the relationships with species in the new area that native plants do. If non-native plants have the ability to spread rapidly in the new environment, they are invasive.

Permeable Pavement: Pavement engineered with small openings that allow water to pass through. The water passes through filters and is stored in a basin underneath the pavement until it absorbs into the surrounding ground.

Permeable Pavers: Blocks of stone or concrete that leave space for water to pass through to reach the ground. The water absorbs into the ground, unlike when rain falls on regular pavement and becomes stormwater runoff.

Pervious Surface: A surface that allows water to pass through it and absorb into the ground, like gravel or soil.

Ponding Water: Water that stays in an area for over 24-48 hours because it cannot pass through the soil quickly. The soil is likely compacted or made of heavy clay, both of which leave little room for water to pass through it.

Rain Garden: A garden designed to catch stormwater runoff and filter it with water-loving plants. The soil of a rain garden is designed to allow as much water to pass through as possible so that sediment and pollutants can be filtered out as the water passes through the soil and becomes groundwater.

Regrading: Changing how water flows on a piece of land by adjusting the steepness of certain areas and digging paths that the water follows. This can help decrease the amount of water flowing to an area and slow the water.

Rock Features: In this context, rock features are groups of rocks that slow and direct stormwater runoff. They catch sediment that would otherwise pollute waterways. Slowing the runoff with rock features and/or spreading it out over a larger area can decrease erosion.

Sediment: Bits of soil, rock, and other materials that settle at the bottom of waterways. This polluted the waterways, burying habitat, clogging drains, increasing the chance of flooding, and harming ecosystems.

Soil Type: The category that soil falls under. The types are sand, silt, and clay. Each type has different properties and different plants that thrive in them.

Stormwater Runoff: Rainwater that falls on a surface it cannot pass through that runs off of the surface. The water picks up pollutants, gains speed, and warms up, all of which cause problems for the environment. Runoff can also cause flooding and create problems in people's yards stemming from an overabundance of water after a storm.