Functions of a Dry Creek in Optimizing Landscape Drainage

Based in Salem, Iowa, Jake Kruse is an entrepreneur, dog breeder, and landscaper at K & E Landscapes, Inc. Jake Kruse has extensive knowledge in designing and installing small decorative ponds. He often incorporates dry creeks as well.

Dry river beds are both an aesthetic choice and a way of dispersing rainwater and ensuring a healthy, well-drained landscape. The dry creek directs water that would otherwise collect in a puddle, creating mud or wet areas away from the property. It also helps preserve slopes that would otherwise erode without a channel directing drainage.

Deciding where to place the dry creek requires carefully observing the terrain and how water flows when heavy rains occur. In general, you want a channel that directs water away from any structure and its foundations and creates runoff that joins existing landscape drainage. Remember that directing water to the street or toward another property is often not an option.

Creating a dry creek requires excavating a foot or more of soil and tamping the resulting channel to create a flat surface with angled sides. Landscape fabric is placed across the channel surface to prevent weed intrusion, and pea gravel is placed over this. As a finishing touch, many homeowners add river rock along the edges of the dry creek.