Swale:
noun Chiefly Northeastern U.S.
- a low place in a tract of land, usually moister and often having ranker vegetation than the adjacent higher land.
- a valleylike intersection of two slopes in a piece of land. [Dictionary.com]
Noted in “Sewage crisis: The truth about British rivers and how to clean them up,” Michael Marshall, NewScientist (12 August 2023, paywall):
Alternatively, we can harness nature. Buildings with green roofs naturally absorb some rainwater. Many new housing estates in the UK now have a swale: a wide, shallow ditch that captures rainwater. A swale enables this water to slowly drain away, rather than flowing quickly over paved surfaces straight into the nearest sewer or river.
Swales are just one example of a sustainable drainage system. “We can also implement ‘rain gardens’ in urban areas,” says Campos. These are planted areas of ground that collect runoff. For example, in many British towns and cities, roundabouts that were once made solely of concrete have been turned into miniature gardens. There are plenty of other hard, paved areas that can be planted and this would lead to leafier cities as well as helping to control the flow of water.
We’ve been thinking about installing rainwater barrels, but our predominant droughts have been a discouragement.
