Stormwater Mitigation & Restoration Plantings

A river rock dry creek bed by Chesapeake Landscapes, showcasing a natural-looking and expertly constructed landscape feature made of river rocks, arranged in a meandering pattern to mimic a dry creek bed, adding visual interest, texture, and erosion control to the landscape, creating a functional and aesthetically pleasing element in the outdoor space.

From stormwater management renovations to new installations of bio-swales and mitigation sites, Chesapeake Landscapes extends our full-service program to cover all your outdoor site management needs.  We can work with your engineers and architects and local nurseries to ensure availability and production timelines are met.   Sustainable stormwater management, also called low impact development 

(LID) or green infrastructure are other options for dealing with storm water on your property, these can also result in credits for LEED or other green initiatives. Sustainable stormwater management focuses on reducing runoff and improving water quality. LID practices help maintain natural hydrologic cycles through site grading, vegetation, soils and natural processes that absorb and filter stormwater onsite. They also help minimize erosion, flooding and water pollution downstream. Sustainable stormwater management focuses on reducing runoff and improving water quality. LID practices help maintain natural hydrologic cycles through site grading, vegetation, soils and natural processes that absorb and filter stormwater onsite. They also help minimize erosion, flooding and water pollution downstream.

Here are some of the green infrastructure and LID practices:

Bio-Retention Areas


Bio-retention areas are shallow, landscaped depressions that allow runoff to pond in a designated area, then filter through soil and vegetation. Small-scale Bioretention areas are also known as rain gardens.

Curb and Gutter Elimination


Curbs and gutters collect and transport runoff quickly to a stormwater drain without allowing for infiltration or pollutant removal. Eliminating curbs or adding curb cuts allows runoff to be directed into pervious areas and filtered through LID features. Swales can also be used to replace curbs and gutters as a way to convey runoff.

Permeable Pavements


Permeable surfaces, unlike impermeable surfaces such as asphalt or concrete, allow stormwater to infiltrate through porous surfaces into the soil and groundwater. EPA parking lots, driveways or sidewalks include pervious concrete, porous asphalt, pervious interlocking concrete pavers or grid pavers.

Sand and Organic Filters


Runoff directed to these filters infiltrates through a sand bed to remove float-ables, particulate metals, and pollutants. They are typically used as a component of a treatment train to remove pollution from stormwater before discharge to receiving waters, to groundwater or for reuse.

Green Roofs


“Green” roofs are covered with vegetation to enable rainfall infiltration and evapotranspiration of stored water. A green roof can also reduce the effects of atmospheric pollution, reduce energy costs, decrease the “heat island” effect and create an attractive environment.

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Another strategy in a complete stormwater management plan, and often designed in conjunction with permeable pavement systems are Bio-swales and bio-retention basins as well as Rain Gardens. Rain gardens are depressed (bowl-shaped) gardens with sandy soils and deep-rooted native plants. They act as natural filters, capturing stormwater runoff and letting it soak into the ground, where the soils trap and remove harmful pollutants. In addition to managing stormwater, rain gardens provide beneficial habitat for pollinators and other wildlife.

Bio-filtration basins are nearly identical to rain gardens, except for one key difference. Instead of allowing stormwater to soak into the ground, bio-filtration basins filter pollutants out of stormwater and then allow it to drain through an underground drain pipe and into the storm sewer. This is a useful option in areas where clay soils make it hard for water to infiltrate the ground, or where the soils are contaminated. Bio-swales are shallow channels designed to capture and infiltrate runoff from a specified area. Like rain gardens, they are filled with vegetation and sand soils that help stormwater soak into the ground. The main difference is in the design: Bio-swales are typically longer, narrower and deeper than rain gardens, and are frequently used next to roads or other impervious surfaces.