Best Management Practice

Shoreline management refers to a variety of practices that reduce shoreline erosion. There is no one-size-fits-all method for managing shorelines, as site-specific plans for stabilizing a shoreline must take into account local geology, wave energy, sea level rise, and historic and current erosion conditions.

The riparian area is the strip of land running parallel to a stream, river, bay, or other waterway. Maintaining this area in a vegetated state that includes a variety of trees, shrubs and grasses creates a buffer that protects the waterway from land use activities.

Open channels convey stormwater runoff and provide treatment as the water is conveyed. Runoff passes through vegetation in the channel, the subsoil matrix, and/or infiltrates the underlying soils.

Septic systems achieve nutrient reductions through several management practices, including routine maintenance and pumping.

A rain garden is a planted depression in the landscape designed to collect and temporarily store stormwater runoff, allowing it to be absorbed into the soil, taken up by plants, or evaporated.

Permeable pavers or porous pavement reduce runoff volume by allowing water to filter through open voids in the pavement surface to a washed gravel subsurface storage reservoir.

Downspout redirection changes the flow of rooftop stormwater so that it is no longer directed to an impervious surface or piped into a sewer system or body of water. Instead, it is directed to a pervious or permeable surface such as a yard, garden, or conservation landscape.

Conversion from Turfgrass to Conservation Landscaping is a practice that replaces sections of turfgrass with native plants.

Conversion from Impervious to Turf/Conservation Landscaping involves removing impervious surfaces and replacing them with pervious or permeable surfaces such as a yard, garden, or conservation landscape that allow rainwater to soak into the ground.

When choosing to keep areas of your property as lawn, following good maintenance practices will help protect water resources and create healthy habitats.