Stone Drainage Swale on a Lake Slope

The problem

Runoff coming off the drive and roofline had cut a rut down the slope and was dumping mud toward the lake. Every heavy rain moved more soil, and topsoil and mulch kept ending up at the bottom of the hill.

What we did

• Cut and shaped the channel with a mini excavator so water follows one path instead of spreading across the slope
• Laid filter fabric the full length to keep soil from pumping up through the rock
• Hand-set graded stone from the top of the run down to the outfall, sizing rock up where the water moves fastest
• Blended the edges back into the yard so it mows clean and doesn't read as a construction scar

How it turned out

The slope holds. Runoff moves through the rock instead of over the dirt, the ruts are gone, and the channel looks like a dry creek that belongs there.