Sustainability Action Plan

Case studies

Save our front gardens!

Fronts gardens also soak up a lot of rainwater, and removing them means that we end up with lots more water entering the drains. Paving over gardens and other soft surfaces means that our antiquated combined sewerage system cannot cope with the increase in supply – both from rainwater run off and domestic sewerage. So foul water has to be released into the waterways when the system is at capacity. The fact that large quantities of sewage regularly go into the river was highlighted during storms in August 2004, when a heavy downpour resulted in the deaths of 10,000 fish in the Thames .

The solution is to use porous paving so that the rain can percolate through to the ground water, or better still, keep your front garden, grow some fruit in it, and cycle or walk instead of using the car!

Need more convincing? Check out Food up Front’s website for some inspiration.

Photo Credit: The photo of a water butt was taken by the Flickr user thingermejig and was found on this page.

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