Rerouting the Rain

 
 (photo by Karen Gideon)


BEFORE MAN BEGAN constructing buildings and paving roads and parking lots, when rain fell on the earth it percolated down through layers of sand and soil and eventually entered the water table below the surface. When rain falls on solid buildings and paved surfaces, it runs around them often causing serious erosion. In modern cities, this runoff water is collected in storm drains which route the runoff to the nearest body of water.(cont reading at Marin Independent)