Swale Maintenance

What This Service Involves

We maintain vegetated swales and bioswales by managing vegetation height, removing accumulated sediment, and repairing erosion so these facilities keep treating and conveying stormwater as designed. Western Washington's NPDES programs credit swales for water-quality treatment, but that credit depends on documented maintenance that our crews perform and record to your standards. We control invasive and woody encroachment, re-establish check dams and flow paths, and preserve the healthy grass or plantings that provide filtration. Facility condition and maintenance actions are logged for compliance reporting.

Benefits

Preserves the treatment credit these facilities provide; restores conveyance capacity by removing sediment; controls invasive and woody encroachment; repairs erosion and re-establishes flow paths and check dams; produces maintenance records for NPDES compliance

Our Process

1) Inspect the swale for sediment, erosion, and vegetation condition; 2) Mow or manage vegetation to the specified treatment height; 3) Remove sediment and repair erosion, check dams, and flow paths; 4) Document facility condition and maintenance actions performed

What Affects the Cost

Swale length, width, and sediment accumulation; vegetation type and encroachment extent; erosion and structure repair needs; disposal of removed sediment; inspection and reporting frequency

Best Time of Year

Swale maintenance is cycled through the growing season, with a fall service to ensure treatment and conveyance are optimal for wet-season flows.