Ponds and Water Management

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Ponds and Water Management
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• The detailing of external systems such as
  rainwater harvesting, grey water recycling,
  drainage or water features may be conveniently
  addressed as part of the garden and landscape
  scope.
• Water Features, Ponds and Natural Swimming Pools
• Formal or informal ponds, and fountains or other
  water features, are popular and useful design
  features. However, designing, constructing and
  planting water features calls for a blend of good
  design balanced and harmonious with the
  surrounding gardens and house together with
  sound technical knowledge. A wildlife pond,
  optimised for invertebrates such as dragonflies
  and damselflies, can be an ecologically
  attractive feature, where space permits. A
  natural swimming pool is reliant on the purifying
  effect of the root systems of certain aquatic
  plant and does not need chlorination, so swimming
  is much more pleasant (and a natural pool will
  pick up quite a bit of solar heat, without being
  artificially heated).

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• Reed Beds
• Reed beds provide an ideal medium for cleaning
  dirty water, where space is available, and can
  achieve a high discharge quality. They have the
  advantage of being aesthetically pleasing, very
  low maintenance, and providing an attractive
  habitat for invertebrates such as dragonflies and
  damselflies. A reed bed can be subtly integrated
  with ponds and other water features, mitigating
  the area needed. This provides a good
  opportunity for saving and storing grey water -
  wastewater from showers, baths, washbasins (and
  sometimes washing machines and kitchen sinks)
  which can be reused once treated, either for
  garden irrigation or in the home. (Untreated
  grey water may be unsuitable for long term
  irrigation, depending on its source.) Reed beds
  also have an important role to play in
  attenuating storm water flows, as part of the
  drainage strategy on larger sites.

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• Water Conservation
• Rainwater capture and storage is a
  straightforward way of reducing drinking water
  consumption, either for use in the home or for
  irrigation (although the water supply isnt
  necessarily as reliable or consistent as grey
  water). The design, function and location of any
  rainwater harvesting system should ideally be
  considered early in the landscape design process,
  and the specification and installation may be
  usefully included within the landscape works
  scope, rather than being retrofitted at a later
  date.

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• Drainage
• Many gardens, especially those on poor draining
  soil, suffer from water logging during wet winter
  periods. The problem is often made worse by
  recent construction work, where soil has been
  compacted by builders' vehicles. Aside from soil
  remediation, and assuming the cause is not
  attributable to a high water table, some form of
  drainage may be necessary. This can generally be
  routed to a suitably sized soak away (recent
  regulatory changes discourage discharge directly
  to watercourses). Consideration should also be
  given to drainage of paved areas such as patios
  and driveways. Drainage design, and compliance
  with the SUDS regulations, is a standard
  consideration in our garden and landscape design
  process. For more details visit Garden Design
  Wiltshire website.