Rainwater garden transforms soggy lawn into beautiful wildlife habitat

Rob Allen from Liverpool has tackled his garden drainage issues by creating a rainwater garden and wildlife habitat reducing the amount of rainwater flowing into the sewer.

When Rob, who works for North West water company United Utilities, bought his new house he noticed a downpipe on the garage wasn’t connected to a drain. Instead, the water was just pouring out onto his garden.

Rob explained: “I kept an eye on the downpipe during heavy rainfall and noticed that the rainwater was just draining into the ground close to the foundations of the garage.

“I realised I needed to do something about it as the water had almost eroded the base of ground around it and created a hole underneath the fence to my neighbour’s property,” he added.

There were no drains nearby that Rob could divert the pipe to, so he decided to capture it instead. First, he installed a 277-litre water butt that he bought through the online water saving store at United Utilities. Rob used some of the water collected to water his garden, but the butt was collecting more water than he could use.

“I did some research into rainwater management and harvesting and asked United Utilities’ rainwater expert, Johnny Phillips, for advice,” explained Rob.

“I watched tutorials on YouTube and decided to connect a half drainpipe to the water butt to divert water to a temporary pond that I dug.”

The temporary pond acts as a soakaway during heavy rainfall. After the rain stops it usually only takes 20 to 30 minutes for the water to drain into the ground.

“I did an infiltration test to check the ground was suitable for it,” said Rob. “The water drained away quickly so I knew the infiltration was good.”

Rob laid two sections of 2.5m half drainpipe and connected it to the down pipe to divert the water to the rain garden. Then he researched plants that would withstand drought and wet weather conditions and planted them in the autumn.

Over time the plants have matured and benefit pollinators like bees and butterflies in the summer.

“It’s a mini biodiversity habitat helping with nature’s recovery,” said Rob.

“I’m relieved that the water isn’t draining into the garage anymore or onto my neighbour’s land. If all of us did our bit like this to reduce the amount of surface water entering the sewers, imagine the difference it would make,” he added.

Rob is now planning to work with his youngest son to create a mini wildlife pond to attract amphibians and increase biodiversity in his garden.

Johnny Phillips, United Utilities’ Business Development Manager (Rainwater Management), commented: “What Rob has done is demonstrate how gardeners up and down the North West can get involved in reducing the flow of rainwater entering drainage networks to improve river water quality and bring nature back into their gardens.”