Erosion worries townhouse owner
The homeowner says removal of leaves created the problem that’s getting worse.
Andy Buchl, who lives in a townhouse near the tail-end of Riordan Road, is concerned about erosion surrounding his property.
The ground is bare, the soil is hard and dry, rocks are starting to poke through the surface and tree roots are uncovered.
More of the ground washes away with every rainstorm, he said, explaining that he believes the problem can be traced back to excessive maintenance on the part of the Townhouse Association on its limited common property.
“They come up here with weed whackers like a swarm of locusts,” Buchl said.
Back in 2008, he said, the association started clearing out all the leaves and brush surrounding his home. This reduced ground cover, he said, which left the area more susceptible to erosion.
“They spent three weeks hauling leaves out of here,” Buchl said, motioning to the valley between Kingsbury Drive and Riordan Road.
Moreover, he said, the association took out the brush buffer between his home and the street, which gave his home more privacy and sheltered him from road noise. That buffer, he said, is part of why he bought his home in the first place.
Because all the rainwater from the surrounding streets drains into the valley behind his home, he said, the channel at the bottom that it ultimately reaches becomes a tiny, raging river. The rushing water eats away at the soil and gravel.
This is particularly worrisome, he said, because the area's utility lines are also run through that valley's ground.
Calvin Bey, an independent consultant with a master's degree in forestry and a Ph.D. in genetics, came to look at the common property surrounding Buchl's home to help him establish the extent of the erosion.
The solution to this issue, he said, would have to start with no longer removing the leaves and brush. The leaf cover, he said, will eventually break down and join the soil. A layer of humus can form again, and that can improve growth.
“You've got to have a cover for it to be alive,” he said.
Bey wrote a report after looking at Buchl's property, in which he addressed the specifics of what he saw.
He noted that leaves and several inches of top soil are gone, and rocks are beginning to protrude. Moreover, the soil is light-colored, he wrote, as opposed to a rich, dark color that would indicate healthy soil.
Exposure to sunlight causes the
soil to dry out, he wrote. Between the drying and the lack of nutrition in the soil, one can expect more trees to die.
“Now, rather than the water percolating into the soil, conditions have been created where each rain event will take with it soil that has taken centuries to develop,” Bey wrote. “Eventually, small channels will develop and, over time, grow even larger.”
Stopping cleaning, he wrote, would be the best way to start addressing the problem, but the damage will need to be addressed if it is to be fixed completely. Many spots, he wrote, will likely need to have gravel added to them.
“As the chips decompose, the resulting humus will hold water, reducing runoff (and therefore erosion),” he wrote. “The humus will create ideal conditions for beneficial soil microorganisms, which in turn will provide nutrients for plant growth and improved health of the site.”
He also suggested rerouting some of the runoff and avoiding the use of chemical treatments.
David Whittlesey, general manager for the Townhouse Association, said that's less of a concern because they only use chemical treatments in landscaping areas, meaning that isn't much of a concern for yards and wooded areas.
The area in front of Buchl's home, Whittlesey said, was cleared largely because it was collecting trash from the roads. There was also concern, he said, that cigarette butts landing in the leaves could pose a fire hazard.
“Aesthetically, it looks a lot better than it did 10 years ago when there was trash,” he said.
Whittlesey said he believes erosion in the front has also been limited by a retaining wall.
Regarding the valley behind Buchl's home, he said, there was originally a concrete walking path at the bottom.
The association did not have the money to repair the sidewalk, he said, and so it was removed. Part of preparing for that, he said, was removing the leaves surrounding it to see what sort of terrain surrounded it.
The removal, he said, resulted in the channel that water now flows through. A handful of entrance points for the old sidewalk remain, he said, and currently function as drainage channels for the streets above.
“Everything drains into this point,” Whittlesey said, pointing to the space between Riordan Road and Kingsbury Drive on a map. “You get a tremendous volume of water when you get several inches in a short time.”
He said that the association hasn't done much to the valley since removing leaves to get at the sidewalk, though they do perform some maintenance near the top and bottom of it.
The bottom, he said, is critical. There's a a drainage pipe that runs under Basildon Drive, which can become clogged if that high volume of water has the opportunity to carry too much stuff in it — be it leaves, brush or gravel. And if that pipe clogs, he said, the water flows over Basildon Drive.
“Yes, there is erosion down there and I'm not disputing that,” he said. “We always try to strike a balance.”
Whittlesey said that the association needs to balance what's best for the townhouse owners as a whole and what it can afford to do.
He said that he believes the majority of townhouse owners are happy with the clearing and would even like to see it go further, but he understands that Buchl has a preference for keeping the area natural.
Drainage and erosion, he said, are citywide issues, exacerbated by the area's topography and lack of drainage infrastructure. He'd like to work with the city to resolve it, he said, but it's a long-term issue.
As for Andy Buchl's backyard, Whittlesey said, the issue could likely be solved if enough resources were available.
“Ultimately what should probably be done down there is some sort of drainage culvert,” he said.