posted 10 years ago
I'm gonna start this off by saying that requirement is assinine. Anyone that thinks runoff from a house is going to contribute enough to help flood a stream (that collects water for MILES around) is obviously an idiot. Not to mention streams are supposed to flood on occasion anyway, it's just what they do.
Well, if it's flowing to a pond anyway, a body of water is about one of the most productive environments anyway. i highly doubt dust and bird poop will harm anything plant related, if nothing else it'll be good for them. Really the only bad thing would be chemicals from the, probably, asphalt shingles on the house. Give the wicking beds a try though, that's the only way you'll ever really know. Personally I would just build a large catchment system and use it to drip irrigate garden beds, but it's less labor and I'm lazy lol